US threatens 'economic D-Day' sanctions on Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday threatened Iran with "an economic D-Day," announcing a wave of new sanctions aimed at further isolating the country.

"We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe," said Bessent at a press conference.

"Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline" that sustains the country, he said.

The US Treasury Department said in a press release that the new sectoral sanctions determinations target five critical sectors – digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping – that the US says Iran has relied on to prop up its economy.

The measures marked the beginning of "a sustained and systematic campaign to close every financial resource" that supports Iran, the department said.

It added that "any entity that facilitates money laundering or sanctions evasion on behalf of Iran risks being cut off from the US financial system." The department is expanding the categories of "Iran-related conduct" that the United States might sanction in the future, and said "every country will be given a defined timeline to shut down the Iran-related activity" the United States has identified.

Bessent disclosed that US President Donald Trump has been calling world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with Iran.

Simultaneously, the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple jurisdictions that enable Iran's activities, including illicit nuclear and missile technology procurement, cyber operations, and oil-revenue generation networks.

OFAC also suspended several general licenses that previously authorized certain remittance payments to Iran and Iranian access to the US cultural and academic system.

Additionally, the Treasury Department released additional guidance on the sanctions risks associated with complying with Iranian demands regarding shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on X, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf responded to US economic threats against Tehran by saying that, "Iran's trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don't take these statements into account anywhere." "They cannot cut off our financial lifelines," Iran's Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Seyed Ali Madanizadeh said in another X post, adding that Tehran has been "planning for some time to counter the sanctions."