US vows ‘toughest sanctions in history’ on Iran as Trump threatens countries providing lifeline

The United States has vowed to impose the "toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating that the economic pressure would work and collapse the Iranian regime. According to Bessent, the US is seeking a "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world" and is urging allies and rivals, including China, to join in.

Bessent told CNBC that the US would give more details on the measures during a press conference on Monday. He also stated that China, which gets 50 percent of its energy from inside the Gulf, would benefit from the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and lower energy prices.

Iran has branded the US threats as "economic terrorism" and said they would fail. The US has been engaged in a war with Iran for nearly six months, and President Donald Trump has promised the "most crushing" economic operation ever against Iran.

Brief written by urgent.news from Arabian Business, Free Malaysia Today, Hindustan Times - World News, The Hill, Middle East Eye — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.