Bessent: Trump administration preparing new bank sanctions over Iran

The Trump administration is set to impose sanctions on another bank this week as part of its intensified efforts to economically isolate Iran, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent conveyed these plans to The Associated Press, stating that the U.S. is prepared to use "financial violence" if necessary to ensure Iran stops its activities.

This announcement came ahead of the Group of 20 meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, where Bessent would meet with counterparts from major and developing economies to coordinate a united front against Iran.

The administration has been shifting its strategy from military strikes to economic pressure, given the ongoing conflict that has lasted six months. They are aiming to apply an "economic D-Day" against Iran, a nation that has already endured decades of punishing sanctions. However, tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated on Sunday, with U.S. forces striking Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz for the first time in a month. Iran declared it would retaliate for the attack.

The administration's approach has primarily focused on warnings rather than new sanctions against Iran's trading partners. There is also uncertainty about how President Trump will address China, Iran's largest trading partner and major oil importer. Bessent assured the AP that all options, including sanctioning China, are on the table.

He dismissed the notion of reluctance towards confronting China, clarifying that this was a "completely false narrative" reported by the media. The administration's initial step in this economic pressure campaign was a proposed rulemaking that could effectively cut off the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt's second-largest bank, from the U.S. financial system.

While the administration did not impose sanctions on the Egyptian bank, it signaled reluctance to penalize major trading partners such as China and India.