US launches sweeping economic offensive against Iran
The United States has launched what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as an unprecedented campaign to isolate Iran from the global financial system, targeting the country’s aviation, shipping, gold, technology and digital asset networks.
Bessent said Monday that Operation Economic Outcast was designed to sever what he called Iran’s remaining economic lifelines and prevent Tehran from rebuilding its military and other strategic capabilities.
“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent told reporters.
The campaign, directed by President Donald Trump, includes sanctions against more than 60 individuals, entities and vessels worldwide. Washington is also expanding the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign companies and institutions that continue doing business with Tehran.
Bessent said US agencies had mapped the networks involved in Iranian oil smuggling and sanctions evasion and would pursue a “zero leakage” strategy.
Washington warns global financial institutions
Bessent warned that companies and financial institutions helping Iran convert oil revenues or launder money could be cut off from the US financial system.
He said a major financial institution could be sanctioned before the end of the week, without identifying the institution.
The Treasury secretary also urged US partners to end activities that Washington considers supportive of Iran, saying countries had been given timelines to shut down targeted operations or face unilateral US measures.
Bessent said Washington was using quiet diplomacy with China while continuing to pressure Beijing over its dealings with Tehran. He also credited US pressure for the United Arab Emirates’ reported decision to halt trade and financial transactions with Iran.
The administration has described the campaign as an economic offensive of historic scale and says previous US and Israeli military operations have significantly damaged Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure.
Pentagon keeps military option open
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States could launch additional strikes against Iran if necessary, despite the administration’s current emphasis on economic pressure.
Asked whether military action was on hold, Hegseth said Washington would use force if required.
“If Iran is foolish enough to overplay their hand or mess with the American military, we'll do what we need to do,” he told reporters in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Hegseth said economic pressure was currently having the greatest impact but stressed that Washington was not ruling out military action in or around Iran, including the Strait of Hormuz.
He also claimed the US maintained control of the strategic waterway and said its blockade was preventing Iran from moving oil through the strait while allowing Washington to protect shipping.
Hegseth separately urged US defense contractors to move toward a wartime footing and said the administration expected Congress to approve its proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget.
USS Abraham Lincoln heads home
Hegseth also confirmed that the USS Abraham Lincoln is returning to the United States after an extended deployment.
The carrier has spent more than eight months without a port call, setting a US Navy record. Hegseth described the deployment as difficult and longer than most, while rejecting reports of deteriorating conditions and morale aboard the vessel.
He also declined to comment on reports that US stocks of ATACMS long-range missiles had been significantly depleted, saying the military had sufficient supplies.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked Trump on Monday after the US president shared a report claiming that Ghalibaf had said Iran was unable to survive because it was hungry.
Ghalibaf responded with an image carrying the phrase “Make America Hungry Again,” a play on Trump’s political slogan, alongside statistics about hunger and food insecurity in the United States.
“You cannot cover up your defeats with baseless claims,” Ghalibaf wrote without directly naming Trump.
The exchange came after Trump pledged to impose what he called the most crushing economic operation ever directed against a country, warning that governments, businesses and financial institutions providing Iran with an economic lifeline would face severe consequences.
IRGC calls sanctions the main battlefield
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Monday that economic warfare had become the main battlefield in the confrontation with Washington.
The IRGC accused the United States of using sanctions to increase pressure on living conditions, spread despair and weaken public trust.
It called on Iran’s economic, trade, oil, industrial, agricultural, banking and diplomatic institutions to coordinate efforts to neutralize the sanctions, stabilize markets, secure essential goods, control inflation and protect employment.
The powerful military and economic organization also pledged cooperation with President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government, saying closer coordination was essential to strengthening Iran’s economic resilience.
The latest escalation comes amid a broader confrontation between Washington and Tehran following military strikes, retaliatory attacks and stalled efforts to maintain freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Source:AA
