US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled Monday what he described as an "economic D-Day" that aims to give a final warning to countries to sever their business ties with Iran or risk having key companies and entities cut off from the dollar-based financial system. "We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent said. He added that it’s “no longer acceptable to operate in the gray spaces” of the conflict. He did not name what countries could face potential secondary sanctions from the United States. “Let there be no ambiguity as to the position of the United States,” Bessent told a news conference. “An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power.” The US Treasury Department has mapped the networks, facilitators, and financial channels that Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions and said that Washington would be working with US partners to target any source of Iran's "illicit revenue." The department said it has issued determinations against five sectors -- digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping -- that the Iranian government is using to prop up its economy. The Treasury has also imposed sanctions on nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels. US President Donald Trump's war with Iran, which has pushed energy prices higher worldwide, is about to hit its six-month mark. While heavy fighting has subsided, diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled and oil and raw material shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, keeping energy prices elevated.
