Scott Bessent Announces Aggressive Economic Sanctions Campaign to Isolate Iran
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has launched a comprehensive economic pressure campaign against Iran, designated as "Operation Economic Outcast." The administration announced that the campaign aims to achieve the economic equivalent of a military victory by stripping entities that do business with the Iranian regime of access to the U.S. dollar-based financial system. Bessent stated that the U.S. is tracking down the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ offshore accounts and luxury real estate holdings to freeze them. He warned that any nation or bank aiding Iran will face secondary sanctions. The administration announced that these assets, which were allegedly stolen from the Iranian people, can be returned to the citizens or to victims of terror. While the U.S. seeks to starve Iran into capitulation, the Iranian economy is already experiencing significant distress. The country is facing runaway food inflation and a depreciation of the national currency. Despite the new sanctions, China and Pakistan have already declared they will not comply with the U.S. measures, continuing to trade with Iran. Bessent emphasized that the U.S. is demanding that global partners choose a side, stating that the regime's ability to project terrorist power through proxy networks will be curtailed.
Sources
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Bessent vows to 'asphyxiate' Iran economically, warns regime's offshore assets will be frozen
Fox Business
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The looming failure of Operation Economic Outcast
Al Jazeera
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Iran’s economy in crisis as US launches new sanctions campaign
The Guardian