The Trump administration is escalating its economic campaign against Iran, with President Trump calling the effort an "economic D-Day" and threatening what he called "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country."
According to NPR, the push comes days after a 60-day memorandum of understanding aimed at restarting peace talks expired without result. Diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations are completely stalled. A U.S. naval blockade remains in place, and Iran is still heavily restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil waterway.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Thursday interview on CNBC that Iran will face the "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world." "It is going to work in Iran and we are going to collapse this regime. It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision," he said.
Trump also posted on Truth Social this week: "ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences."
Bessent is scheduled to hold a press conference Monday to detail how the campaign will be carried out. The threat of secondary sanctions against entire nations, not just businesses, has drawn particular attention because of China. Bessent noted that China buys roughly 90 percent of Iran's oil exports but declined to say whether China could be directly targeted.
On Friday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman called for negotiations rather than sanctions, saying "sanctions and pressure tactics are not the solution."
Iranian officials rejected the framing entirely. Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, described as the country's main negotiator with the U.S., said during a visit to neighboring Iraq that Trump's threats showed Washington had failed militarily. "The Americans and the Israelis have realised that they cannot handle Iran…in the field of a hard military war, so they have entered into a cognitive war and an economic war," he said.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump's pivot to economic pressure "economic terrorism" meant to divert attention from U.S. economic problems, saying in a social media post that doubling down on failed policies would deepen anti-American sentiment.
The U.S. already has extensive sanctions on Iran. In June, the administration also cracked down on refineries and businesses that buy Iranian oil. Iran wants sanctions relief and the unfreezing of tens of billions of dollars in assets held abroad. NPR reported that analysts say more sanctions will likely deepen Iran's distrust of the United States rather than bring it back to the table. The USS Abraham Lincoln is now heading home after roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines spent nine months at sea during U.S. military operations against Iran.
