US Treasury Secretary Says Trump Asked World Leaders to Isolate Iran Economically

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said President Donald Trump has contacted world leaders who cooperate with the United States. Trump is said to have asked them to isolate Iran economically.

As reported by CNN on Tuesday (25/8/2026), Bessent declined to name which countries have communicated with Trump. “We have already seen some results,” Bessent claimed, adding that the Treasury Department and the State Department would follow up through official visits and telephone calls. Both departments will tell each country “exactly what we expect and the time frame.”

“And I expect very quickly, if they do not respond, you will see the consequences of their actions,” Bessent stressed.

Bessent also declined to set a specific deadline for when those countries must sever economic ties with Iran or face financial sanctions from the United States. “I will not set a deadline, but we do not have unlimited patience here,” he said.

Bessent threatened to expel groups that help Iran launder money from the US financial system, which sits at the centre of the global economy. “I want to make it clear: any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system. The clock starts now,” Bessent said in prepared remarks on Monday.

“If they facilitate transactions and become part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, and then into tools of repression, they will be targeted,” Bessent said in response to questions about sanctions.

In its press release, the US Treasury Department used slightly softer language, stating that any entity facilitating money laundering or sanctions evasion “risks being cut off from the US financial system.”

Asked whether Chinese banks could face secondary sanctions for allegedly helping Iran, Bessent said the best approach is through “quiet diplomacy”, but added that “no one is beyond the reach of US sanctions.”

“We are aligning perceptions with every country to convey our expectations,” he said. “We know who they are. They know who they are. So when the hammer of US Treasury sanctions falls on them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”

Bessent added that the public can expect a major sanctions announcement targeting an unnamed financial institution this weekend.