US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Announces Economic D-Day Against Iran

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is entering the endgame against Iran with what he called an economic D-Day.

In a post and an opinion piece, Bessent stated that President Trump had dismantled Iran’s military capabilities, destroyed nearly all its military factories and buried its nuclear program. The next phase, he said, is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the regime until Tehran stands alone.

Bessent is scheduled to detail the measures at a press conference on Monday. He warned that any nation serving as a financial artery for Iran should expect to share in its isolation.

Iran responded sharply. The new head of its Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, warned that support for the U.S. measures by other countries would be treated as an act of war. Iranian officials said Tehran could shut down all oil exports from the Persian Gulf if the economic pressure continues.

Iran’s rial hit a new record low against the dollar in morning trading, reaching 2 million to the dollar. Oil prices fell as markets weighed the risk of further disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil normally passes.

The United States has already imposed extensive sanctions on Iran’s banking, energy, aviation and cryptocurrency sectors. The new package is expected to target remaining trade partners and secondary channels.

Talks aimed at a formal ceasefire window of 60 days have expired without agreement. Both sides now face a period of heightened economic and military tension.

Bessent’s language marks a shift from earlier deadlines and U-turns. The administration presents the current steps as the culmination of military and financial pressure rather than the start of a new campaign.

Whether the measures produce the isolation Washington seeks or provoke wider regional disruption will depend on the response of third countries and on Iran’s ability to sustain its economy under tighter constraints.