US announces 'economic D-Day' against Iran as Tehran vows sanctions will fail

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration will unveil sweeping new sanctions on Iran on Monday. The move sharpens the US-Iran confrontation as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz adds pressure on oil markets.

In Short

• Bessent said Washington will use every agency to choke Iran's finances
• Trump warned countries and companies against maintaining economic ties with Tehran
• Iran calls new US sanctions plans desperate and ineffective

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced plans for what he described as the “single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary”, as the Trump administration prepares to impose sweeping new sanctions on Iran.

In a post on X, Bessent said US President Donald Trump had dismantled Iran’s military capabilities, destroyed nearly 100 percent of its military factories and “buried its nuclear program”. He said the United States was now entering the “endgame” in its confrontation with Tehran.

“At dawn begins an economic D-Day,” Bessent said, warning that Washington would use every available agency, authority and measure to sever the economic lifelines sustaining the Iranian regime.

Bessent accused Tehran of using security guarantees as a form of extortion and said the Trump administration had ended an era in which Iranian retaliation was considered certain while US enforcement was viewed as negotiable.

BESSENT WARNS OF TOUGHEST SANCTIONS

Bessent is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2 pm EDT on Monday, where he is expected to outline the new measures. He has previously warned that Washington could impose the “toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.

Trump has also warned countries against providing “any type of lifeline to Iran”, signalling that Washington could target nations and entities that continue economic ties with Tehran.

Bessent has specifically urged China to cooperate with Washington. China remains a major buyer of Iranian oil, purchasing more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler.

IRAN DISMISSES US SANCTIONS THREAT

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi rejected the threat of fresh US sanctions, describing the expected measures as evidence of Washington’s desperation.

In a video posted on Telegram, Araqchi said the United States had shifted from military operations to what he described as “the same old plans”.

“The fact that they have moved on from military operations ... to bring up the same old plans shows that they are desperate,” he said.

Araqchi called on Washington to engage with Tehran respectfully and pursue what he described as a solution based on “justice and honour”.

He also insisted that previous US military and economic measures had failed and predicted that the new sanctions would meet the same fate.

“We have never been afraid,” Araqchi said, adding that blockades and other military actions had failed and that the latest US initiative would fail as well.

HORMUZ CRISIS ADDS PRESSURE

The escalation comes as the Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of the wider confrontation. Iran has brought shipping through the strategic waterway to a virtual standstill, refusing to allow unauthorised oil tankers to transit the route, which is crucial to global energy supplies.

The effective blockade has disrupted oil shipments and pushed global crude prices higher, adding to pressure on international markets.

With Washington preparing its most aggressive economic measures yet and Tehran refusing to back down, the latest escalation threatens to deepen the confrontation between the two countries and further disrupt global energy supplies.

- Ends