Composite story

Treasury expands secondary sanctions in economic asphyxiation of Iran

Scott Bessent launches Operation Economic Outcast, warning firms and banks to cut Iran ties or lose the dollar, while sparing major Chinese banks for a cure period.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Aug. 24 launched Operation Economic Outcast, expanding secondary-sanctions risk in five Iranian sectors and designating about 60 targets worldwide. He told countries to cut ties with Tehran or lose access to the dollar, called the campaign economic asphyxiation, and said no one is above U.S. sanctions. Monday’s list spared major Chinese banks. Bessent offered a cure period rather than immediately targeting the institutions that finance most of Iran’s oil sales to China. Iran said it was prepared; China said it would protect its interests.

Shared facts

The Trump administration on Monday launched a campaign focused on expanding secondary sanctions against those that do business with Tehran.

It sanctioned about 60 entities, individuals and vessels worldwide.

He said the objective is to sever every economic lifeline until Tehran stands alone.

The administration had been warning the measures would amount to an economic D-Day.

Abdolnaser Hemmati said the latest measures would not create additional pressure.

The US did not immediately impose blanket secondary sanctions on other countries.

The rial fell to a record unofficial low of 2.02 million to the dollar on Monday.

China buys the vast majority of Iranian oil, an analysis of September 2025 shipments found.

Bessent said the administration was launching Operation Economic Outcast at Trump’s direction.

Asked about Chinese banks, Bessent said no one is above the reach of US sanctions.

He sidestepped announcing end dates.

Bessent said targeted countries know who they are and will have no one to blame but themselves.

Military strikes and talks have failed to reopen Hormuz or end the six-month conflict.

Bessent said governments and companies would get a cure period to wind down Iran dealings.

He said Trump has been personally calling foreign leaders to halt transactions with Iran.

Treasury said it would step up secondary sanctions in digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.

Bessent said Treasury has mapped every node Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions.

He said facilitators in the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money and repression will be targeted.

China is estimated to buy roughly 80% to 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports.

Lin Jian said China will do what is necessary to protect its rights and interests.

The campaign comes nearly six months into the war.

Bessent said Monday’s announcement was a warning shot.

Bessent did not name China on Monday.

The conflict has seen ceasefires collapse and US threats to intensify military operations.

Bessent said the US would sanction a major financial institution that does business with Iran later this week.

Periodic ceasefires sent oil prices lower, then they rose again when the deals lapsed.

Bessent said the US does not have infinite patience.

Xi Jinping is expected to visit Washington for a summit with Trump.

Iran’s closure of Hormuz, a route for about one-fifth of global oil and LNG, has pushed up energy prices.

Iran is grappling with six months of war and a US naval blockade.

Mohsen Rezaei warned that joining the new US sanctions would be treated as an act of war.

Iran has faced decades of economic sanctions, including maximum pressure in Trump’s first term.

The US is pressing Iran to give up its nuclear programme and cease attacks on Hormuz vessels.

Iran responded with fury to the new measures.

Esmaeil Baqaei warned that any action that escalates the situation will come at a cost.

Iran has spent decades circumventing US sanctions through partners including China and Russia.

The US and Israel launched the war against Iran in February during nuclear talks.

AAA put the US national average gas price at $4.10 a gallon, versus $3.15 last year.

Disputed facts

None yet.

Shared opinions

None yet.

Disputed opinions

SCMP says effectiveness may depend on how far Washington will press China.

Reuters

US threatens countries doing business with Iran, but holds off on penalties for now

David Lawder and Humeyra Pamuk

24 Aug 2026

Facts

The action targeted businesses in China, the UAE, Singapore and a cooking-oil refinery in France.

New sanctions on Chinese banks could sour a November deal on rare earths and U.S. tariffs.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 33% of Americans approve of Trump's performance.

Heavy fighting has subsided.

The blockade has already curbed Chinese offers to purchase Iranian crude.

Treasury recently sanctioned independent Chinese teapot refineries for buying Iranian oil.

Bessent singled out Bank Melli, which still operates branches in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Hegseth said the United States could maintain the naval blockade indefinitely.

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States could maintain the naval blockade indefinitely, which could keep oil prices elevated, potentially stirring U.S. voter anger ahead of congressional elections in November.

attribution · Pete Hegseth

The U.S. has imposed Iran-related sanctions on more than 1,000 people, vessels and aircraft since 2025.

Recent measures froze an estimated $500 billion in Iran-linked cryptocurrency.

Opinion

Daniel Fried said the announcement did not live up to the hype.

Fried said the pressure campaign will take time and may require U.S. concessions to secure cooperation.

The pressure campaign on Iran will take time to work and patience and possibly require some concessions on the part of the Trump administration to secure cooperation, he said.

"You're going to have to get the Gulf countries to agree, and you're going to have to listen to what they want, and be steady," Fried said.

attribution · Daniel Fried

NPR

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveils new U.S. economic sanctions to isolate Iran

Fatima Al-Kassab, Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Emily Feng, Michele Kelemen

24 Aug 2026

Facts

Targets include a network of brokers, companies and shadow-fleet vessels in the UAE, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland and Europe.

A statement from the Treasury Department said that among the targets of Monday's sanctions is "a network of brokers, companies, and shadow fleet vessels operating across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland, Europe, and other regions to transport Iranian oil and channel revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC‑QF) and other regime elements."

fact

Mohsen Rezaei said Iran would retaliate in a seismic manner.

Iran's new security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said in an interview on state TV over the weekend that Iran would retaliate in a "seismic manner" to Trump's latest attempt at economic warfare. Rezaei, a hard-liner who used to lead Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, is now a military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

attribution · Mohsen Rezaei

The administration is focusing more pressure on countries and governments that host Iran's cash-flow entities, not only on firms.

Rezaei warned that not even a single drop of oil will leave the region.

Iran has attacked U.S. bases in Jordan and Gulf countries including the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran nearly six months ago, Iran has attacked U.S. bases in Jordan and Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Several of the attacks have led to serious injuries and fatalities.

fact

Iran's statistical center puts inflation at almost 90%.

Gulf countries that built pipelines to avoid Hormuz have not yet commented on the new U.S. sanctions plans.

Economic pain helped drive Iranian street protests earlier this year that met a deadly crackdown.

A 30-year-old Iranian woman told NPR most ordinary Iranians are buying food on credit because they lack cash.

NPR spoke to one 30-year-old Iranian woman who said most ordinary Iranians are now buying food using a credit system because they do not have enough cash.

"Since I am in debt to the grocery store, I couldn't even buy tomato paste to cook pasta," she told NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi. She did not want to be named for fear of retaliation from the Iranian government.

attribution · unnamed 30-year-old Iranian woman

She said insulin has become too expensive for many, with power cuts and rising unemployment.

Opinion

Alan Eyre said there are no new sanctions that are effective.

Alan Eyre, a former American diplomat who was part of the U.S. negotiating team over Iran's nuclear program until 2015, told NPR's Emily Feng that the U.S. has already targeted "the low-hanging fruit, the mid-hanging fruit, the high-hanging fruit, the tree" and that "there are no new sanctions that are effective."

attribution · Alan Eyre

BBC News

Iran says it is 'fully prepared' to counter widened US economic sanctions

Michael Race, Mitchell Labiak and Ian Aikman

25 Aug 2026

Facts

Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran was fully prepared and predicted another US defeat.

Last week the UAE said it was halting all financial transactions with Iran.

Madanizadeh said neither China nor Russia had accepted the US measures.

Madanizadeh said Iran has a two-year plan to manage the sanctions.

Iran warned it would shut down all oil exports from the region if the war continued.

Bessent said Iran faces isolation or a path back to the global economy.

Iran issued a fresh warning that ships must not pass Hormuz without permission.

Bessent said America is no longer managing the Iranian threat but ending it.

Bessent said governments and entities trading with Iran could not claim they are blind to enabling this activity.

Ali Vaez said the Chinese are generally against unilateral sanctions.

"Generally, the Chinese are against unilateral sanctions," said Ali Vaez, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the International Crisis Group.

"They would comply with multilateral or international sanctions, but unilateral sanctions just imposed by the US - they have always seen that as illegitimate," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

attribution · Ali Vaez

Vaez said Pakistan, Turkey and Iraq cannot really afford to cut off ties with Iran.

Trump said in April that a whole civilisation would die tonight unless Iran agreed a deal.

The US climbed down after Pakistan called for more diplomacy.

Brent crude was $92 a barrel on Monday.

In April the Trump administration launched a wave of sanctions on foreign banks and firms dealing with Tehran.

A 2015 deal lifted many sanctions in return for nuclear limits.

Trump pulled out of that deal in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions.

Last week Bessent announced a US government bond buyback.

Last week, Bessent announced the US government would intervene in the bond markets and buy back more government debt in a bid to boost demand for bonds and lower borrowing rates.

But the impact of the announcement was short-lived, with long-term borrowing costs bouncing back up a day later.

fact

The Biden administration did not restore the Obama-era deal.

Opinion

Oxley said the direct energy impact of economic D-Day will be a damp squib because of the blockade.

"With the renewed US naval blockade already strangling Iran's oil exports, the direct impact of 'economic D-Day' on Iran's energy revenues will be somewhat of a damp squib," he said.

"We suspect that the new package will have only a limited direct impact on Iranian energy flows in the short term."

attribution · David Oxley

Vaez said economic pressure doesn't work because the regime absorbs pain and passes it to its people.

Al Jazeera

US launches ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ to cut Iran’s economic lifeline

Al Jazeera Staff

24 Aug 2026

Facts

He said countries must choose between the US and Iran.

US and Israeli attacks have killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other top officials.

The attacks have failed to dislodge the governing system in Tehran.

Tehran has responded with missile and drone attacks across the region.

Abbas Araghchi dismissed US pressure, saying economic sanctions against Iran are nothing new.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed US pressure, stressing that economic sanctions against Iran are nothing new.

“They cannot think of any other solution in confronting the great Iranian people, so they repeatedly put forward the same old plans,” Araghchi said.

attribution · Abbas Araghchi

Bessent said those who stand with the US will be rewarded and those who stay with Iran will share isolation.

Hegseth said Iran cannot handle the economic pressure and will have no choice but to return to nuclear talks.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Monday that Iran cannot handle the economic pressure, emphasising that Tehran will have “no choice” but to return to the negotiations table to discuss its nuclear programme.

“But economic pressure, we know, hurts them the most right now.”

attribution · Pete Hegseth

Hegseth did not rule out further US strikes against Iran.

The Trump administration is turning to economic penalties amid a lull in the fighting after months of war and sporadic attacks, but Hegseth did not rule out further US strikes against Iran.

“If we need to use kinetic strikes, we’ll use them. If Iran is foolish enough to overplay their hand or mess with the American military, we’ll do what we need to do,” Hegseth told reporters.

fact

Opinion

Al Jazeera says the US and Israel launched strikes without direct provocation.

Al Jazeera says the response underscores the risk secondary US sanctions pose to the international economy.

Sina Toossi said the blockade hurt Iran’s oil exports but Iran has not capitulated.

“The blockade has clearly hurt Iran, especially its oil exports, but it hasn’t produced the political outcome Washington wants. Iran hasn’t capitulated,” Sina Toossi, a fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera.

“Hormuz remains heavily disrupted, and the costs to the US and global economy are mounting. So, ‘economic D-Day’ looks like an effort to intensify the pressure now that the military campaign has failed to deliver a decisive outcome.”

attribution · Sina Toossi

CNN

The US says it’ll crack down on countries doing business with Iran. Who’s buying Iranian oil?

Ramishah Maruf

25 Aug 2026

Facts

China’s Iranian crude imports have fallen from about 1.4 million barrels a day before the war to around 700,000 recently.

China has already reduced its Iranian oil intake. Its Iranian crude imports averaged around 1.4 million barrels per day before the war but have fallen to around 700,000 in recent months due to lower refinery runs and drawdowns from onshore inventories, according to Emma Li at energy analytics firm Vortexa.

fact

A Nomura report said 38% of China’s oil and 23% of its LNG transits Hormuz.

Tianyue Hu said a complete halt in Iranian crude would have a limited immediate impact on China’s oil security.

“A complete halt (in imports of Iranian crude) would probably have a limited immediate impact on China’s overall oil security, because imports from Iran have already fallen substantially and China still holds relatively large crude inventories,” Tianyue Hu, an analyst at energy intelligence firm Rystad, told CNN.

attribution · Tianyue Hu

Wright said Hormuz is open; Iran says the opposite; ship-tracking showed about half Wright’s claimed flow.

Wall Street analysts haven’t even been able to get a straight answer on how much oil is leaving the Strait of Hormuz. While US Energy Secretary Chris Wright asserted that the strait is open and oil is flowing, Iran says the opposite. And third-party ship-tracking data showed about half the amount Wright claimed.

fact

Kpler said shadow transit made up around 50% of recent Hormuz traffic, up from about 12.5% a month earlier.

Then there are shadow fleets, used often by countries under sanctions. These oil tankers hide their owners, origins and destinations, making them hard to track. Ship tracking platform Kpler said this month that shadow transit made up around 50% strait traffic in recent weeks, up from around 12.5% a month ago.

fact

India stopped importing Iranian oil in 2019 under US sanctions, then bought a cargo in April 2026.

India once was a major importer of Iranian oil. The two remain maintained a $1.1 billion trade relationship between April and December 2025 for goods like rice and sugar, but India stopped importing Iranian oil in 2019 due to US sanctions. (India bought Iranian oil in April of this year amid an energy crisis.)

fact

It is not the first time the United States has threatened sanctions on Iranian trade partners.

Large oil reserves kept the world from a major shortage when the war started in February.

Opinion

CNN says repercussions could raise American consumers’ energy costs.

CNN says new sanctions could further erode the US-China relationship after last year’s trade war.

But new sanctions could further erode the Trump administration’s rocky relationship with China. The two nations were in a blistering trade war last year at the height of President Donald Trump’s tariffs rollout. And they recently revived a tit-for-tat exchange of sanctions.

center · pluralist

South China Morning Post

US sanctions Chinese entities, issues global warning on ‘Economic D-Day’ against Iran

Nayan Seth

25 Aug 2026

Facts

Bessent said any entity that facilitates money laundering for Iran will be removed from the dollar system.

“Let me be clear: any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the US dollar system. The clock just started ticking,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a press conference.

attribution · Scott Bessent

Treasury said every country will get a defined timeline to shut down identified Iran-related activity or face US action.

Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean Industrial was designated over procurement including laser optics for Malek Ashtar University.

The entities targeted on Monday included Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean Industrial Ltd, accused of serving “as an intermediary for the procurement of sensitive goods, including laser optics equipment” for Iran’s UN-sanctioned Malek Ashtar University of Technology.

fact

Newly designated Chinese nationals include Li Na, Qiu Xingyu, Tian Jianbai and Zhang Limei.

Among the newly designated Chinese nationals are Li Na, Qiu Xingyu, Tian Jianbai and Zhang Limei.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control links Li, Tian and Zhang to Sweet Ocean Industrial Ltd, while Qiu is linked to Hong Kong-based BRE International Logistics Corp. The entries carry proliferation-related designations and secondary-sanctions exposure.

fact

Newly listed mainland firms include Bositong, Shenzhen Huamei and Shenzhen Sweet Ocean Technology.

The new mainland Chinese entities include Bositong Supply Chain Shenzhen Co Ltd, Shenzhen Bositong Logistics Co Ltd, Shenzhen Huamei Lianyun International Logistics Co Ltd and Shenzhen Sweet Ocean Technology Ltd.

Newly listed Hong Kong companies include BRE International Logistics Corporation HK Ltd, DEC Photonics Ltd, HK Jiatai Technology Ltd, MT Trading and Logistics HK Ltd, RPT Technology Ltd, along with a number of Iranian oil- and shipping-related companies including Feili Co Ltd, Feisu Ltd, Guska Co Ltd, Minvur Ltd, Riqueza Group Ltd, Shipoil Ltd and Sky Oil and Gas Asia Ltd.

fact

Treasury has already warned two large Chinese banks against handling Iranian funds.

The US Treasury has already targeted several Chinese companies, including some based in Hong Kong, over their alleged role in processing billions of dollars in Iranian oil revenue and facilitating arms purchases. It has also warned two large Chinese banks against handling Iranian funds.

fact

Last week Bessent urged China to join the pressure campaign, citing Beijing’s Gulf energy dependence.

Last week, Bessent urged China to join Washington’s latest efforts to economically pressure and isolate Iran, arguing that Beijing’s dependence on Gulf energy supplies gives it a strong incentive to help bring an end to the conflict.

“Keep in mind, the Chinese get 50 per cent of their energy from the Gulf. So, it would do them a big service to get with the programme,” Bessent told CNBC when asked whether the new economic sanctions would include China.

attribution · Scott Bessent

Trump posted that Iran is completely collapsing hours before the announcement.

Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounted for 27.6% of China’s crude imports in July.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond.

A US-China commission alleged China helps Iran mitigate sanctions through trade, finance and dual-use technology.

“China enables Iran to mitigate global sanctions through trade and financial networks, technology transfers, and dual-use trade,” the US-China Economic and Security Commission alleged in a report released in March.

attribution · US-China Economic and Security Commission

China has denied those enabling allegations.

Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir is visiting Tehran to mediate.

A June US–Iran memorandum of understanding brokered with Pakistan unravelled within a month.

Opinion

No opinion marked.

The Hankyoreh

New US sanctions aim to choke Iran out of world economic order by targeting ‘enablers’

Kim Won-chul

25 Aug 2026

Facts

He called the move an economic asphyxiation of the regime.

“We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent said, calling the move an “economic asphyxiation” of the regime. The administration had been warning since last week that the measures would amount to an economic “D-Day.”

attribution · Scott Bessent

Bessent described the UAE’s trade cutoff as not coincidental.

Hemmati said Iran had built foreign-currency reserves and could fund essential imports.

Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, meanwhile, told the semi-official Tasnim news agency that the US had already done everything it could in terms of sanctions and that the latest measures would not create additional pressure. He said Iran had been building up its foreign currency reserves since the outbreak of the war and could provide the currency needed to import essential goods and medicine.

attribution · Abdolnaser Hemmati

Rice prices have risen about 60% since the war began and beef more than 150%.

The official central-bank rate is around 1.5 million rials to the dollar.

As US pressure intensified, the rial fell to a record low of 2.02 million to the dollar on the unofficial foreign-exchange market on Monday. The central bank’s official rate is around 1.5 million rials to the dollar, but the market rate is generally used for actual transactions.

fact

The IMF has forecast Iran’s GDP will contract by more than 5%.

Opinion

No opinion marked.