US Treasury Launches Operation Economic Outcast Against Iran With Nearly 60 Entities Sanctioned and Secondary Sanctions on Trading Partners

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sweeping new economic measures against Iran on Monday under the banner of "Operation Economic Outcast," calling it the most extensive coordinated financial offensive ever launched against an adversary. Speaking at a press conference, Bessent said every Bank Melli Iran branch worldwide must be shuttered and pledged a "zero leakage approach" to enforcement. The package includes sanctions on nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, individuals and vessels spanning nuclear, missile, cyber and oil networks.

The measures also expand secondary sanctions, forcing countries and companies that do business with Iran to choose between continued access to the dollar-based financial system and ties with Tehran. China, which buys an estimated 90 percent of Iranian oil, faces particular pressure under the new framework. Bessent described the campaign in a Financial Times op-ed as aimed at severing "every economic lifeline" sustaining the Iranian regime, and said the economic pressure works in conjunction with an ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Gulf of Oman.

Oil prices fell Monday as markets digested the announcement. Iran dismissed the threat ahead of the press conference, characterizing sanctions as an admission of US defeat.