US Treasury Launches Economic Offensive Against Iran as Hormuz Standoff Deepens

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday detailed what the Trump administration calls its economic D-Day against Iran, broadening secondary sanctions to target any entity or country that continues to transact with Tehran.

The measures form part of a campaign to force Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abandon its nuclear programme. Bessent described the package as the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary. The goal, he said, is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the regime until Tehran stands alone.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei responded by warning that any nation supporting the US sanctions would be viewed as committing an act of war. Tehran has already restricted transit through the Strait and threatened fines, detention or confiscation for vessels that violate its rules.

Oil prices fell on the news as markets weighed the risk of further disruption to Gulf energy flows. Iran’s currency hit a fresh record low. The US Navy continues to blockade Iranian ports, and earlier talks on the nuclear issue collapsed weeks ago.

Pakistan’s army chief arrived in Tehran for talks, and Oman’s foreign minister is scheduled to visit on Tuesday. Iraq received permission for several of its oil tankers to transit the Strait after repeated requests.

The conflict, now in its sixth month, has seen no direct military exchanges for weeks. Bessent argued that the combination of blockade and sanctions would reduce the need for further kinetic operations. Iran’s foreign minister called the new measures bound to fail.

The announcement comes as the administration maps Iran’s remaining oil-smuggling and sanctions-evasion networks and prepares to present that information to countries still facilitating trade.