U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled Washington’s new sanctions campaign against Iran on Monday, warning that every country has a specific timeframe to cease the activities identified by the U.S., or else it will face measures from the U.S. Treasury Department.
Beset stated that U.S. President Donald Trump is personally reaching out to leaders around the world, making specific requests that they sever their ties and transactions with Iran.
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The new sanctions framework covers sectors such as digital assets, technology, and shipping—sectors on which, according to the Treasury Department, Iran has relied to prop up its economy.
However, despite Scott Bessent’s warning of an “economic D-Day” against Iran, the U.S. is not, at least for now, moving forward with imposing the “toughest” sanctions it had threatened.
Instead, the administration announced that it will work with “partners around the world” to end their economic activities and transactions linked to Iran.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. is imposing sanctions on nearly 60 individuals, companies, organizations, and vessels linked to Iran, targeting networks associated with the nuclear and missile programs, cyber activities, and the oil sector.
At the same time, the Treasury Department is suspending general licenses that had allowed certain transfers of funds to Iran.
Washington is also identifying five sectors in which it may impose secondary sanctions: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping.
The new sanctions also target a network of brokerage firms and ships in the “shadow fleet,” with a presence in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland, and Europe.
Among other things, the U.S. Treasury Secretary stated that Washington will implement a “zero-leakage” policy in enforcing sanctions against Iran.
As he noted during a press conference, Donald Trump is personally reaching out to world leaders, urging them to sever their economic ties with Tehran. According to Besed, the U.S. president is making specific requests to leaders to end trade and other economic ties with Iran.
“Each country has a specific timeline to cease the activities we have identified. If they do not take action, we will do so unilaterally, using the powers of the Treasury Department,” he warned.
Countries will have a limited amount of time to cease the activities identified by the U.S. Treasury Department, which include the closure of Iranian bank branches abroad.
Beset also warned that “any form of financial transaction with Iran will expose those responsible to the full force of U.S. power,” emphasizing that “no one is beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions.”
At the same time, Besset clarified that he would not announce specific deadlines for severing economic ties with Iran, warning, however, that Washington’s patience “is not unlimited.”
“We do not have unlimited patience,” he emphasized, referring to Iran.
Companies that help Iran launder money will be cut off from the dollar
The U.S. Treasury Secretary threatened to cut off access to the U.S. financial system for anyone who helps Iran launder money, a measure with particularly serious consequences given the dollar’s central role in the global economy.
“I want to be clear: any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be cut off from the U.S. dollar system. The clock has just started ticking,” Bessent said on Monday.
“If they facilitate transactions and are part of the system that turns Iranian oil into money and money into repression, they will be targeted,” he added in response to a question about the sanctions.
In a statement, however, the Treasury Department used slightly milder language, stating that any entity that facilitates money laundering or the circumvention of sanctions “risks being excluded from the U.S. financial system.”
When asked whether Chinese banks could face secondary sanctions for their alleged role in supporting Iran, Besed replied that the best approach is “discreet diplomacy,” but reiterated that “no one is beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions.”
“We make our demands clear to every country,” he said. “We know who they are. And they know who they are. So when the hammer of U.S. Treasury measures comes down on them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”
Finally, Bessent announced that a major sanctions announcement targeting a financial institution would be made by the end of the week, without revealing which institution would be in the crosshairs.
Source: skai.gr
