US: We are cutting off all of Iran's economic lifelines

 

TT 

 

Published 16.53Updated 19.50

 

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his press conference on Monday. Photo: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP/TT

The US is introducing new economic sanctions against Iran, which President Trump claims is facing collapse.

The stated goal is to completely isolate Iran's economy from the rest of the world.

- Our goal is to cut off every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime, until Tehran stands completely alone, says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a press conference on Monday evening Swedish time.

Part of the strategy will be to exclude countries or companies that the US believes are "laundering money" for the Iranian regime from the global dollar system, Bessent threatens.

- All actors who facilitate money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system. The clock just started ticking, says the Treasury Secretary.

He did not specify which countries the measures would target, saying that different countries would be given different deadlines.

Those who do not comply with the US sanctions will be isolated in the same way as Iran, Bessent threatened.

He also announced new sanctions against a number of actors who allegedly facilitate Iran's development of nuclear energy and missile technology. In addition, new sanctions will be targeted at what Washington describes as particularly important sectors for the Iranian economy: digital assets, technology, gold, and the aviation and shipping industries.

War rhetoric

Ahead of the press conference, Bessent described the new sanctions package as an "economic D-Day".

He claims that this is being done after the US has fulfilled alleged war goals such as "burying" Iran's nuclear energy program and "dismantling" its military capabilities.

"Iran is completely collapsing!!!", President Trump adds, in capital letters in a post on Truth Social.

Six months after the US launched its war against Iran, the conflict remains at a stalemate. Peace talks have stalled and traffic in the closed Strait of Hormuz remains severely restricted.

Following increased criticism at home about the costs of the war, the US has shifted its focus from military to economic means.

“Doesn’t hold up”

Tehran describes the plan as proof of the US’s defeat in the war.

“Your narrative does not hold up,” writes Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi on X, where he asks why there is a need for such a comprehensive economic offensive if the US’s goals have already been met.

President Donald Trump has given various reasons for why he, together with Israel, started the war in February that quickly spread across the Middle East and has sent oil and gas prices soaring.

He has often referred to Iran’s nuclear energy program, despite claiming that it had already been “wiped out” in previous attacks in 2025.