After days of intense buildup, the Trump administration has unveiled what it calls “economic D-Day” against Iran.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent vowed the toughest sanctions campaign in history, following President Donald Trump’s threat to “crush” Iran with economic warfare “on an unprecedented scale” unless Tehran surrendered to Washington’s demands.
Yet the sanctions regime Bessent described on Monday came with surprisingly few specifics. Even before the announcement, thousands of Iranian and non-Iranian individuals and entities were already facing US sanctions.
The apparent novelty lies less in sanctioning Iran itself than in threatening countries, companies and financial networks that continue doing business with Tehran. Bessent even borrowed a page from former US president George W Bush’s playbook: “You are either with us or against us.”
According to Iranian customs data, the country trades with 178 states, but China and the UAE matter most.
