Scott Bessent Skimps On Details In Big ‘Economic D-Day’ Iran Sanctions Announcement

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent provided few specific Monday during his highly-anticipated announcement about sanctions against Iran.

The expanded “secondary” sanctions, which Bessent dubbed an “economic D-Day,” were intended to intensify pressure on Iran amid the current “no war, no deal” limbo. Iran faced international sanctions for years without fundamentally changing its regional behavior or its posture toward its nuclear program, raising questions about whether a broader economic squeeze would produce a different result.

“Let there be no ambiguity as to the position of the United States,” Bessent said at a Monday news conference. “An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power.”

Bessent did not provide a deadline for compliance, but warned that the U.S. would not wait indefinitely.

“I’m not going to set a timeline, but we do not have infinite patience here,” Bessent said.

The Treasury secretary also suggested that China and other major trading partners of Iran would not be exempt from the campaign.

“No one is above this,” Bessent said when asked whether China would be targeted. “This is economic asphyxiation of this regime … and no one should test our resolve.”

The administration already maintained extensive secondary sanctions against countries that traded with Iran, particularly its oil sector, but U.S. officials only partially enforced those measures.

For the new pressure campaign to succeed, Washington would likely have to convince allies to participate while aggressively confronting countries including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Qatar and Turkey that continued to maintain economic ties with Tehran.

“Today, at President Trump’s direction, the United States Treasury has begun Operation Economic Outcast, an unprecedented campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers,” Bessent said. “In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe.”