The United States has announced an unprecedented expansion of its\neconomic embargo to pressure Iran\u2019s economy. Washington is targeting\nIran\u2019s trading partners amid the ongoing war in West Asia (the Middle\nEast), which continues without resolution or tangible progress.<\/p>\n
The announcement was made by US authorities on Monday (24\/08). At a\npress conference, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not outline\nconcrete steps or announcements, but he asked the public to anticipate\nsuch measures in the near future this week.<\/p>\n
He described a plan he called \u2018asphyxiation\u2019 or economic\nstrangulation of the regime in Tehran. This implies that achieving that\ntarget will be carried out largely through secondary sanctions against\nIran\u2019s trading partners.<\/p>\n
\u2018Around the world, our goal is to sever every economic pathway that\nsustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,\u2019 Bessent said\nat the press conference. He added that \u2018we will hold all parties\naccountable.\u2019<\/p>\n
Bessent called the programme \u2018Operation Economic Outcast\u2019 and again\nsought to liken it to the \u2018Economic D-Day\u2019 mentioned by US President\nDonald Trump the previous week. The analogy drew ridicule as being\nhighly inappropriate to the circumstances.<\/p>\n
\u2018During the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of\na joint campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its\npositions, including those in third countries,\u2019 Bessent said in an\neffort to salvage the historical metaphor.<\/p>\n
The policy, he said, would target Iran \u2018and its supporters.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Iran now faces a very clear choice with two paths before them:\ncomplete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path back to\nnormalcy with the opportunity to rejoin the global economy,\u2019 Bessent\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said the Treasury Department has mapped \u2018every node, network, and\nfacilitator Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions.\u2019 He then\nasserted that the US will now begin to \u2018tighten the rules\u2019 to restrict\n\u2018every potential source of revenue that funds the Islamic Revolutionary\nGuard Corps (IRGC) and the Tehran regime.\u2019<\/p>\n
These rules, he continued, will implement a system of \u2018a no-leakage\napproach,\u2019 while adding that third parties can no longer be accepted if\nthey operate in the grey zone in this conflict.<\/p>\n
\u2018The President is reaching out to world leaders with specific\nrequests that they cease engagement with the regime. We are already\nseeing results,\u2019 Bessent explained without providing further\ndetails.<\/p>\n
\u2018Those who side with the United States will reap the benefits of our\npartnership,\u2019 Bessent stressed. \u2018Those who side with the Iranian regime\nmust be prepared to endure the same isolation as that weakening\nregime.\u2019<\/p>\n
He said the US will provide clear deadlines to various countries to\ncooperate along with the steps that must be taken, or they will face the\nconsequences.<\/p>\n
Responding to the latest US sanctions on Monday (24\/05), Iranian\nEconomy Minister Ali Madanizadeh predicted \u2018another defeat\u2019 for\nWashington. He said Tehran has a two-year plan to counter the\nsanctions.<\/p>\n
\u2018They have done everything they can to test the resolve of the\nIranian people and officials, but they have failed every time. It seems\nthey want to suffer another defeat,\u2019 Madanizadeh told state\ntelevision.<\/p>\n
\u2018We have long anticipated these plans, and the government is ready\nand has a two-year plan to handle this situation.\u2019<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, the head of Iran\u2019s top security body warned that\nTehran would consider any country\u2019s support for US actions as an \u2018act of\nwar\u2019.<\/p>\n
The head of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei,\nstated that Iran would carry out \u2018very heavy retaliation\u2019 over the\nsanctions, targeting other oil shipping routes from the Persian\nGulf.<\/p>\n
\u2018If the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be\nexported, whether through the Strait of Hormuz or from anywhere in the\nPersian Gulf,\u2019 Rezaei said.<\/p>\n
Iran has lived under international sanctions for decades. The US\nconducts almost no bilateral trade with Iran and has very little direct\neconomic leverage over it.<\/p>\n
Before the war, Iran\u2019s two largest trading partners were China and\nthe United Arab Emirates (UAE). China has been the most effective\ncountry at resisting economic intimidation efforts from the previous\nTrump administration. The UAE last week announced the suspension of all\ntrade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran until\nfurther notice.<\/p>\n
Turkey, as a NATO member, and neighbouring Iraq both do substantial\nbusiness with Iran. Russia is also a valuable trading partner, although\nit does not need fuel exports from Iran.<\/p>\n
Germany is Iran\u2019s largest trading partner in Europe, but the volume\nbarely exceeded one billion euros in 2025. Provisional government\nfigures show that this trade volume will be halved to its lowest level\nthis year amid the war.<\/p>\n
Bessent said he would not \u2018name names\u2019 regarding which parties\u2019\ncooperation would be sought or demanded by the US.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the press conference on Monday, China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign\nAffairs stated that Beijing is monitoring these developments closely and\nwill do what is necessary to protect its rights. The ministry also added\nthat sanctions and pressure tactics will not help resolve the issue.<\/p>\n
In a post on platform X before Monday\u2019s (24\/05) announcement, Bessent\ndescribed the sanctions as \u2018the largest financial assault ever deployed\nagainst a single country\u2019.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-prepares-economic-sanctions-against-all-of-irans-trading-partners-1787719944", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }