WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was launching a major new campaign to target Iran’s economy and threatened “tremendous” punishment on any country that helps or does business with the Islamic republic.In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced what he called the “most crushing economic operation” against Iran, ramping up pressure on Tehran amid a deadlock in negotiations to end the military conflict between the two countries.Trump’s announcement came hours after the United Arab Emirates, a critical trade partner for Iran, suspended all financial ties with the country, accusing it of launching two ballistic missiles towards its waters.Tehran denied the claim, calling it a “false-flag operation”.Trump said Iran has “failed to take” the opportunity to make a deal, and would face “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale”.“Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.“I am also announcing that 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,” he said. “Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — it all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are. This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat.”He did not specify what punishment countries helping Iran would face, and no country other than Iran was mentioned by name.The president’s comments come nearly a week after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would impose economic isolation on the country “like the world has never seen before.”The intensified economic pressure campaign comes as the war that the US and Israel started in February nears its sixth month with no immediate diplomatic or military off-ramp in sight.Trump is also facing renewed domestic political scrutiny over the war with November mid-term elections quickly approaching.This is not the first time that Trump has threatened Iran with economic sanctions.His administration has waged an economic pressure campaign against Iran, under the banner of Operation Economic Fury, following the launch of the US-Israel war on the country in February.The US has already imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran’s oil, shipping and financial sectors, seeking to cut off the revenue Tehran earns from energy exports. It has also imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and targeted companies, brokers and tankers accused of helping Iran sell its oil abroad.There was no immediate response from Iranian officials, but state media dismissed Trump’s announcement as nothing new.The IRIB state broadcaster said it followed “the failure of military aggression” while the semi-official Tasnim news agency said the announcement was “not a new development”. It said the US “has been trying for years to block any financial and economic ties with Iran” but that Tehran has “learned how to circumvent these restrictions and has become very skilled at doing so”.The semi-official Fars news agency also dismissed Trump’s claims as “delusional”, saying that the US had repeatedly voiced assertions of Iran’s “imminent collapse” and military destruction without delivering concrete results.Despite a recent lull in missile strikes, Iran has continued to impose an effective blockade on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, after a frame US-Iran deal to reopen the vital corridor collapsed.In recent days, both sides have said messages were being exchanged, but Trump on Tuesday insisted talks were off and posted a message on social media suggesting the strait could be a “NEW US Territory.”