US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that any country that continues to enable Iran will become part of US efforts to "isolate" Tehran from the global economy, adding that US President Donald Trump is already calling on world leaders to halt trade with Iran.
Bessent unveiled new sanctions on Iran on Monday — targeting Iran's digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping — escalating the Trump administration’s pressure on Tehran to negotiate a deal to end the conflict and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"Iran's enablers purchase, transport its petroleum. They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones. They welcome Iran's flights and maintain registries on its behalf. They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and overland transits. They condone illicit use of their banks, all the while concealing the extent of their complicity," Bessent told media in Washington DC, without naming the countries.
He said every country has a defined timeline to shut down activities the US has identified, warning, "If they do not take action, we will do so unilaterally through Treasury authorities."
He said President Trump is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with Iran.
"We are already seeing results over the weekend," he added.
View on China
Bessent said that countries and entities that stand with the US "will reap the rewards of our partnership", but warned "those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime."
He stated that delegations from the US Treasury, State Department, and military are engaging international counterparts to urge decisive action.
Bessent said that Washington would end access to the US dollar system for those laundering Iranian money, as he sought to ramp up pressure targeting Tehran months into war.
"Any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system. The clock just started ticking."
Analysts say the impact of Bessent's announcement hinges on whether Iran's key trading partners, such as China, view US warnings as credible.
Asked if Chinese banks dealing with Iran could be targeted, Bessent said "no one is above the reach of US sanctions."
"An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power."
The US has long sanctioned Iran, though Tehran has frequently bypassed these restrictions through front companies.
Iran rejects Bessent's 'bombast'
While Bessent was speaking in Washington, the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, took to X, saying: "Americans know that no one buys their bombast; the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries."
"Iran's trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don't take these statements into account anywhere."
US joined Israel in attacking Iran on February 28, with strikes quickly killing the longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and much of the other top brass as well as hundreds of civilians.
But Iran quickly hit back by exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway through which one-fifth of global oil once sailed, and it has rained missiles and drones on US-allied Gulf Arab monarchies, shattering the oil-rich countries' hard-earned reputation for stability.
Tehran has reported thousands of Iranian fatalities as it struck US bases and assets in the Middle East, while the Pentagon has confirmed 18 deaths in addition to 756 injuries among its personnel during the conflict.
