“We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
With these words, the United States (US) today announced a bouquet of what it described as crushing economic sanctions designed to bring the regime in Iran to its knees and possibly ignite a regime change through civil protests.
But, ahead of the sanctions rollout, Tehran vowed to retaliate against any Gulf of Persia country that cooperates with the US attempt to impose the sanctions against it,saying firmly that Iran would hit back at the vital interests of such nations anywhere,the Guardian UK reports.
Iran also dismissed the sanctions, declaring that for decades now, it had survived a slew of US sanctions and kept breathing.
Addressing a press conference, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran faces two choices, “complete global isolation and a subsistence economy or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy.”
Dwelling on the nitty gritty of the sanctions, he said at the direction of President Donald Trump, “Treasury has mapped every node, every facilitator, and every network that Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions.
“Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the evil Iranian regime.”
Bessent said that the sanctions will target “five of Iran’s most vital lifelines that it exploits in other countries – digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.”
“As I speak, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is also sanctioning over 60 entities, individuals and vessels around the world that enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and generate oil revenue,” he added.
Warning nations against assisting or in any way collaborating with Tehran, the Treasury Secretary said: “Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership. Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.”
Secretary Speaks On China, Iran’s Major Oil Trade Ally
Bessent did not specify which countries would be targeted by secondary sanctions, even when asked by reporters whether China – the largest importer of Iranian oil – would be impacted.
While Bessent said that “quiet diplomacy” is the best way to engage with countries who still maintain trade relationships with Iran, the latest move is an attempt to show that “no one is above” sanctions, he said.
“We know who they are, they know who they are, so when the hammer of US Treasury actions fall upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves,” Bessent said.
He described the new wave of sanctions as “economic asphyxiation” of the Iranian regime and “no one should test our resolve.”
The Treasury Secretary also said he would not “name names” about the world leaders that Trump is in touch with when it comes to ending business with Iran.
When asked why the US Treasury Department is not implementing sanctions immediately, Bessent said that it was to give nations who conduct business with Iran the “opportunity to remedy bad behavior.”
Bessent added: “I’m not going to set timelines, but we do not have infinite patience here.”
“Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” he said. “We believe that it’s important to level set and give people a cure period. But they should know that will move very quickly, and that we are serious.”
Iran Vows To Retaliate Against Countries That Cooperate With Fresh US Sanctions
Aware of the looming sanctions, Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran would respond with an “earthquake-like” retaliation if Washington proceeded with the proposed measures.
He also warned Iran’s Gulf neighbours against joining the US sanctions campaign.
“If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in their economic war, not a drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” Rezaei said, adding that Iran would also target other oil export routes from the Gulf.
On his part, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, dismissed the expected sanctions as a sign of US desperation, arguing that the measures would fail to defeat Tehran.
He said the US had shifted from military operations to what he described as “the same old plans.”
Reza Nasri, an international lawyer with links to the Iranian Foreign ministry, was quoted by the Guardian UK as saying: “The announcement is not a measure against Iran. It is a claim of jurisdiction over the world, and every sovereign state on Earth is its real addressee. Iran is merely the occasion.
“The demand that no country allow its own banks, businesses, airports or ship registries to engage in lawful trade with another country is aimed at everyone else. Sovereignty itself is the target.”
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said: “Repeating methods that have previously proven to fail will not produce any different results, except that it shows the extent to which America is hostile and spiteful towards each and every Iranian, because it knows very well that the effects of these sanctions will affect ordinary Iranian citizens.”
He added: “Obliging or intimidating other countries to stop or limit their trade relations with another country means violating the most important foundation of international relations and the most fundamental pillar of the United Nations Charter, which is respect for the national sovereignty of countries.”
Hassan Ahmadian, a Professor of West Asian Studies at the University of Tehran, said: “There isn’t a single new sanction. Everything in Iran has been under primary and secondary sanctions since 2018. Since these sanctions failed to achieve the goals the US and Israel wanted, both sides turned to military action. The big fanfare about an ‘economic war’ is really just a public admission of a major step backward. After failing militarily, Washington is clearly stepping back to square one – the economy.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: L-R: President Trump and Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
