US announces bid to further isolate Iran economically

On Monday, the United States announced an ambitious plan to further isolate Iran economically, targeting its trading partners as the Middle East conflict persists. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who delivered a much-anticipated press conference, did not provide specific measures or announcements but hinted at their imminent implementation.

He outlined a strategy to exert "economic asphyxiation" on Tehran, primarily through secondary sanctions on Iran's trading partners. Bessent emphasized that the US would hold everyone accountable and called the program "Operation Economic Outcast," drawing an analogy to the successful "Economic D-Day" of World War II, though this comparison faced ridicule.

Iran now faces a stark choice: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a return to normalcy and the possibility of rejoining the global economy. The Treasury Department has identified every node, network, and facilitator Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions, and will tighten the noose to constrict all potential sources of revenue funding the Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian regime.

The president has been making phone calls to world leaders, urging them to cease interactions with the Iranian regime. The US is already witnessing results, though Bessent did not elaborate. Countries that align with the US are expected to reap the rewards of partnership, while those allied with Iran may face isolation. Iran's Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh predicted another defeat for Washington, stating that Tehran had a two-year plan to counter the sanctions.

He expressed readiness and had already developed a strategy to manage these events. Meanwhile, Iran's top security body head warned that any support for US measures would be deemed an act of war, potentially retaliating by blocking oil shipping routes in the Persian Gulf.