Stocks rose, and oil dipped on Tuesday as investors assessed a US plan for the “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, while tech firms struggled following another down day on Wall Street and ahead of earnings from chip titan Nvidia.
With the war against Tehran in its sixth month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House was declaring an “economic D-Day” on the Islamic Republic and threatened to hit countries that trade with it.
The threat comes with talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, and neither side is showing any sign of backing down — pushing oil prices up for most of August, which has in turn fanned long-term inflation fears and put pressure on bond markets.
“Around the globe, our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent told journalists on Monday.
“We are going to hold everyone accountable, and this is economic asphyxiation of this regime,” he said, adding that countries not joining US sanctions would “share” in Iran’s isolation.
