Treasury Secretary Bessent calls it an "economic D-Day" as war nears six months
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is holding a press conference today to announce sanctions against Iran that he described as the greatest campaign of "coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world."
"At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary," Bessent wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times on Sunday.
The looming escalation comes as both sides missed a 60-day ceasefire window to reach a deal, closing off the formal truce mechanism aimed at ending the Middle East war now in its sixth month. The new measures will add to an extensive sanctions regime already targeting Iran's banking, energy, aviation, and cryptocurrency sectors.
The sanctions are expected to focus on Iranian oil sales, banking channels, transportation networks, and foreign trading partners.
China buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, and Bessent has urged Beijing to cooperate with Washington. Iran has pushed back sharply. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the U.S. announcement an "assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty" against UN member states, warning that "compliance purchases no immunity or respect."
Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei also threatened to halt oil flow out of the Strait of Hormuz and warned neighboring countries that cooperation with the U.S. would prompt Iran to "target their interests."
Iran's currency has already dropped to a record low against the dollar as the U.S. moves to tighten the economic screws on Tehran.
