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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a sweeping escalation of US economic pressure on Iran, combining new sanctions with threats against foreign financial access. The Treasury Department is targeting more than 60 entities, individuals and vessels worldwide as the Trump administration seeks to sever Tehran’s oil income, financial networks and overseas partnerships. Bessent said Washington would isolate Iran economically and deny dollar access to those laundering Iranian money or helping the country withstand US pressure.

Details

• Dollar access: Bessent said economic engagement “of any kind” with Iran would expose those responsible to the “full reach of American power.” His warning covered governments, financial institutions and companies handling Iran-linked flows, broadening the pressure beyond Iranian networks to their foreign counterparties.
• Sanctions scope: The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is imposing the new measures. They cover entities, individuals and vessels tied to networks operating across multiple jurisdictions and are intended to disrupt the intermediaries, companies and transport channels Iran uses to reach international markets and financial systems.
• Targeted activity: Bessent said the sanctioned networks enable Tehran to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations and generate oil revenue. He said the administration would choke off every potential income source for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, linking the designations directly to Iran’s revenue base.
• Wider sectors: Treasury said its campaign also reaches digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. The scope brings payment methods, stores of value, trade services and logistics alongside oil-related financial flows, extending enforcement across the channels used to move money, goods and equipment.
• China and partners: Bessent said China would “stagnate” if it facilitated financial transactions for Iran, extending the warning to one of Tehran’s major economic partners. He also said President Donald Trump had asked specific countries to stop doing business with Iran and that Washington expected others to follow.
• Economic pressure: Bessent said Iran’s currency had fallen through 2 million rials to the US dollar. He cited Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati on declining oil revenue, tax income and social security contributions, presenting those indicators as part of the economic strain facing Tehran.

Background

Bessent framed the measures as part of the Trump administration’s drive to cut the economic channels sustaining Iran. He described Tehran as facing a choice between “misery at home” and complete isolation, while warning that governments and businesses helping it resist US pressure would face consequences.

What’s next

A key enforcement indicator will be whether Washington applies the sanctions to foreign financial institutions, companies and trading partners facilitating Iranian oil sales or financial transactions, including whether those parties lose access to the US dollar.