US announces economic D-Day sanctions targeting 60 Iran-linked entities

Financial campaign unveiled

On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a broad package of economic measures against Iran, describing the offensive as an "economic D-Day." The sanctions target approximately 60 entities tied to Iranian nuclear, missile, cyber, and petroleum networks. According to Bessent, the Treasury Department has identified the intermediaries, transit nodes, and financial channels used by Tehran to smuggle oil and evade international restrictions. The announcement followed remarks by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social, where he stated that Iran is collapsing as Washington moves to cut off state revenue streams. On Sunday, Bessent had stated that the initiative constitutes the largest financial offensive ever mounted against an adversary.

Our goal across the globe is to cut off every economic lifeline sustaining this tyrannical regime until Tehran is left completely isolated.

Secondary sanctions and dollar access

The Treasury Department warned foreign governments and private corporations that maintaining commercial ties with Tehran will trigger strict secondary sanctions. Bessent explicitly cautioned allies and adversaries, including China, that facilitators of Iranian commerce face immediate expulsion from the US dollar clearing system. The administration is pursuing what officials described as a zero-leak policy to block all revenue flowing to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian government. While the measures announced on Monday serve as an initial warning shot, Bessent stated that each country has been given a defined timeline to halt illicit transactions before unilateral US enforcement begins. Trump has also held phone calls with foreign leaders to demand immediate action against Iranian capital flows, warning that nations assisting Tehran will share in its isolation.

Stalled military efforts and diplomacy

The financial measures follow six months of fighting between the United States and Iran as the conflict approaches its seventh month without achieving strategic resolution. A bilateral memorandum of understanding signed in June previously collapsed, leaving formal diplomatic negotiations inactive, with Trump stating last week that direct talks are nonexistent. Commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remains almost completely shut down, contrary to administration statements suggesting vessel traffic continues normally. The US military deployment in the Middle East has cost tens of millions of dollars while Iranian state institutions remain in place. On Sunday, Bessent posted on social media that the conflict had entered its final phase, asserting that earlier operations had destroyed nearly 100% of Iranian military manufacturing facilities and contained its nuclear program.

Iranian response in Tehran

Iranian officials dismissed the American ultimatum during a press conference in Tehran on Monday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bagaei stated that Iran would not allow Washington to dictate conditions for ending the war and cautioned third countries against complying with American secondary sanctions.

Iran will never allow the end of the war to be determined based on the conditions of the aggressor.

Bagaei stated that Iran did not initiate the conflict and acted strictly to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty. He added that the United States must be held accountable for its military actions, reaffirming that Tehran will not alter its defensive posture under economic threats.