The United States has launched what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as its largest financial assault on Iran, seeking to cut the country off from the global economy and block its sources of revenue. Washington has warned governments, banks and businesses that continue dealing with Tehran that they could also be isolated.
Iran says it is ready to withstand the expanded sanctions. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said the government had a two-year plan for managing the pressure and predicted that the United States would suffer “another defeat”.
The measures arrive as the conflict has pushed oil prices higher and raised concerns about energy supplies. Iran has warned that, if the war continues, it could stop all oil exports from the region. It has also warned ships not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission, a narrow waterway through which about twenty percent of the world’s oil and gas moves.
Washington’s pressure campaign
Bessent said the new action targeted Iran’s international financial relationships and the methods it has used to evade sanctions. The United States is taking action involving digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, and has sanctioned about sixty entities, individuals and vessels.
He said countries that provide financial support to Iran would be isolated. Banks and businesses trading with Tehran face the same warning if they do not sever those links.
Bessent presented Iran with what he called two options: complete isolation or a return to normal relations with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy. He said Washington was not merely monitoring the threat from Iran but seeking to end it.
The US Treasury secretary also said President Trump would telephone world leaders with specific requests that they end their relationships with Iran. Although he said governments and businesses needed time to understand the new sanctions, he warned that Washington would act quickly and was serious about the measures.
The announcement followed several changes to the White House’s position and extensions to its deadline as it sought to end the conflict.
China rejects the measures
China has strongly opposed the American action, describing it as illegal unilateral sanctions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said economic pressure would not resolve problems and that Beijing would protect its interests.
China is Iran’s largest buyer of oil and has continued trading with Tehran despite earlier US sanctions. That relationship is central to questions over whether Washington’s latest measures can achieve their stated aim, since their effectiveness depends heavily on Iran’s commercial partners.
Iran’s economy minister said neither China nor Russia had accepted the American steps. He predicted that other countries would also resist the sanctions and said Iran expected to continue trading with other nations.
“ The government is ready and the government has a two-year plan for managing these events,” Madanizadeh said in comments to state television. He added that Iran had been waiting for such circumstances for a long time and understood how to respond.
The United Arab Emirates, another Iranian trading partner, said last week that it would stop all financial transactions with Iran. Its decision contrasts with China’s stated opposition to the American measures, highlighting the different responses among countries connected to Tehran.
Doubts over the sanctions’ impact
Some economists have questioned whether the new sanctions will deliver a significant additional effect. David Oxley, chief climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, said the measures could have limited influence on Iran’s energy revenue because a new US naval blockade was already disrupting the country’s oil exports.
The conflict has already affected the flow of oil through the region, contributing to higher prices worldwide. Any further disruption around the Strait of Hormuz could therefore extend the pressure on global energy markets, while Iran’s warning over oil exports adds to uncertainty about the conflict’s economic consequences.
For Washington, the campaign is intended to force Iran into either deeper isolation or a return to the global economy. Tehran, backed in its opposition by China and supported in its expectations of continued trade by its own government, says it has prepared for the pressure and will seek to keep its international commercial links open.
