The Trump administration launched its “Economic Fury” campaign to hobble Iran’s economy with sanctions more than a month ago. So far, the country is unbowed.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent exhorted allies earlier this week to join the US in its economic pressure campaign, which the administration rolled out shortly after it entered into a ceasefire that halted its military campaign against Iran, dubbed “Epic Fury.”
The new campaign appeared to be an update of “Maximum Pressure,” the tag line dating from Trump’s first term that described his approach of suffocating the Iranian economy. The new campaign that started April 16 promised to leverage “the full range of available tools and authorities” to choke off Iran.
So far, though, the actions largely resembled the previous strategy, and with the same effect: Iran has broadly held out against US demands despite facing a steadily growing arsenal of sanctions dating back to 2018, when President Donald Trump backed out of a nuclear deal forged during the Obama era.
That’s brought the total number of sanctions against Iran imposed in the last eight years to nearly 2,000, according to Jeremy Paner, a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, who tracks designations on Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors.
