US Treasury launches Operation Economic Outcast to isolate Iran
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced expanded secondary sanctions targeting digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, while sanctioning more than 60 entities linked to Iranian oil, nuclear and cyber networks.
Washington2 min read
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Washington, August 24, 2026 — The United States Treasury has begun a new campaign to cut Iran off from global commerce. Secretary Scott Bessent called the effort Operation Economic Outcast and framed it as an economic onslaught designed to leave the Iranian regime with only two choices: isolation or a path back to normal economic relations.
Bessent said the department has mapped every node Iran uses to move oil and evade earlier sanctions. New sectoral determinations now place secondary sanctions risk on five areas: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. Any firm or country that continues business in these channels with Iran faces removal from the dollar system.
At the same time, the Office of Foreign Assets Control designated more than 60 entities, individuals and vessels. The targets span the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Switzerland. Officials accuse them of helping Iran obtain nuclear and missile technology, run cyber operations, or generate oil revenue.
Bessent demanded that every branch of Bank Melli Iran be shuttered. He told reporters the clock is ticking and that the United States will act unilaterally if foreign partners do not comply on their own timelines. President Trump has begun calling foreign leaders to press the same message.
Oil prices moved higher after the announcement. Brent rose toward $92 a barrel as markets weighed the risk of further disruption to already strained Middle East supplies. China, a major buyer of Iranian crude, warned that it would take necessary measures if the sanctions campaign expanded against its companies.
The operation stops short of the most sweeping secondary measures some had expected. Bessent declined to name specific countries that would be hit first. He insisted no one sits above the reach of U.S. sanctions.
The announcement comes months into the wider conflict that began with strikes on Iranian leadership and nuclear sites. The Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint. Officials present the economic pressure as the tool that can reopen the waterway without further military escalation.
Whether major trading partners comply will decide how tightly the noose closes. For now the message from Treasury is clear: continued economic engagement with Iran carries the full weight of American financial power.
