Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a U.S. sanctions campaign against Iran and its allies, Kazakhstan’s landslide election results, and the cancellation of another U.S.-South Korea military exercise.
No One Is Safe
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday unveiled Operation Economic Outcast: a campaign to cut off Iran from the global economy by threatening so-called secondary sanctions against any country or entity that continues to do business with Tehran. That reportedly includes sanctions on an unnamed major financial institution, to be announced by the end of this week.
“Our objective is to sever every economic pipeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said in a press conference. “Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership. Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.”
Operation Economic Outcast includes new sanctions on nearly 60 individuals, entities, and vessels that allegedly enable Iran’s nuclear and missile procurement, cyberoperations, and oil revenue programs. It also expands secondary sanctions on anyone who operates in or provides services to five critical Iranian sectors: aviation, digital assets, gold, shipping, and technology.
