Iran faces 'greatest financial offensive ever', says US treasury secretary

The US Treasury Secretary has threatened Iran with the single greatest financial offensive ever, asserting that the US-Israel war with Iran is entering its final stages. Scott Bessent warned that the US would cut all economic connections with the country, classifying it as an economic D-Day. Any nation partnering with Iran financially would also face isolation.

This threat comes after several shifts and extended deadlines from the Trump administration on earlier warnings. Iran responded by stating it would cease all oil exports from the region if the war persists, according to Reuters. The Iranian government has also issued a new warning, stating that shipping must not pass through the Strait of Hormuz without its authorization.

One-fifth of the world's oil and gas typically passes through this vital waterway located south of Iran, which has effectively been blocked since the conflict began in late February. Bessent made these remarks in a Financial Times opinion piece, but did not specify the extent of the economic pressure on Iran. He is expected to provide further details in an upcoming press conference in the US at 1:00 PM local time (6:00 PM BST) on Monday.

The world should understand that our goal is to sever every economic lifeline sustaining the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone, Bessent wrote in the piece. The US has repeatedly threatened Iran throughout its ongoing war with the country, including when Trump declared in April that a whole civilization would perish tonight unless Iran agreed to a deal to end the war and unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

The US eventually backed down from that stance after mediator Pakistan called for more diplomacy. Iran is already grappling with stringent economic sanctions from the US. The Obama administration and several US allies reached a deal with Iran in 2015, lifting many sanctions in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear program.

However, Trump abandoned this agreement in 2018, deeming it "defective at its core," and reinstated all US sanctions on Iran. During Joe Biden's presidency, attempts were made to restore the Obama-era deal, but they were unsuccessful. In April 2023, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on foreign banks and firms engaging with Tehran following a wave of military operations, as the regime's collapse did not materialize.