Maybe Iran Sanctions Will Work This Time
On Monday afternoon, President Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US would impose all-encompassing sanctions on countries and institutions that conduct business with Iran, in an apparent attempt to end the war after most viable military options have failed. Bessent described the plan, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, as an “economic D-Day,” in reference […]
President Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday that the United States would impose comprehensive sanctions on any countries and institutions engaging in business with Iran. This move, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast and likened to the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, aims to end the ongoing war, with Iran's regime taking the place of Nazi Germany.
Bessent vowed to sever all economic connections sustaining Iran, including digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, by enforcing a "zero-leakage approach" that targets "every facilitator and every network" Iran has used to smuggle oil past existing sanctions. However, the details of how this process would work and when it would take effect remain undisclosed.
Bessent has hinted at secondary sanctions on countries trading with Iran for oil, but these have not been effectively enforced against major partners like China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Qatar. Some of these nations are key US allies, while others are major trading partners. It appears that Russia, already under extensive American sanctions, has extensive experience in evading them.
The Trump administration is reportedly conducting ongoing calls with world leaders under the threat of sanctions to discuss their desired outcomes. The UAE, Iran's largest Middle Eastern trading partner and a US ally, announced last week it would temporarily halt all trade with Iran, attributing the move to US pressure. Bessent claimed this demonstrated that sanctions would work this time, echoing Trump's repeated claims that Iran has been at war with America and much of the world for 47 years.
Throughout this period, the US has imposed increasingly strict economic sanctions on Iran, which have multiplied roughly nine times in the past 20 years. However, these sanctions have not led to a more democratic or US-friendly Iranian government; instead, they have only strengthened the regime's power at the expense of civilian lives.
According to 2025 data from the World Bank, about 35% of Iran's 92 million residents live below the poverty line of their economic peers.
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