Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to unveil a new round of economic sanctions on Iran on Monday, in what he has described as the "single greatest financial offensive ever."President Trump has called it an "economic D-Day" and pledged to go after other countries who extend an economic lifeline to Tehran.In anticipation, the Iranian currency, the Rial, has plunged to a record low.What are these new sanctions and how much more pressure can they pile on?The U.S.already has extensive sanctions on Iran, some stretching back almost 50 years, and as recently as June had imposed further penalties for entities that helped Iran evade existing financial restrictions.
There has also been a months-long U.S.naval blockade of Iran, which has cut off most goods to Iran from the outside world.This latest suggestion from President Trump and Secretary Bessent appears to be focused on putting more pressure on the countries and governments — not just the businesses — that host the entities providing cashflow for Iran.In an editorial for the Financial Times published overnight, Bessent wrote, "our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone." He appeared to reference countries that still trade with Iran, saying they should "consider the consequences of doing so."That includes China, Iran's biggest oil customer, which Bessent criticized last week for historically buying about 90 percent of Iran's oil.But some analysts question the actual utility of fresh economic sanctions.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."Iran vows a "seismic" retaliation to any sanctionsIran's new security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said in an interview on state TV over...