President Donald Trump has announced an unprecedented economic campaign against Iran, calling it an “ECONOMIC D-DAY.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States will follow the move with what he described as the “toughest sanctions in history” against Tehran.
Bessent said Thursday that the administration will reveal details of the new sanctions at a press conference on Aug. 24. He described the plan as a “one-two punch” combining economic sanctions with the U.S. blockade of Iran.
“We have the blockade, and we are going to have the toughest sanctions in history,” Bessent said during an interview with CNBC.
Bessent also urged U.S. allies to join Washington in what he called the “greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.” He said countries must choose whether to side with the United States as the administration seeks to increase pressure on Iran.
Countries that continue transferring money to Iran, buying Iranian oil, or participating in ship-to-ship transfers could face the “full might and force” of the Treasury Department and the federal government, according to Bessent.
Trump announced the broader campaign Wednesday after saying Iran had failed to take advantage of opportunities to reach an agreement with the United States.
“No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He then announced what he called the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY.”
Trump said the campaign would amount to “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale.”
The president warned that countries allowing their financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide Iran with a lifeline would face major economic consequences.
Trump specifically cited oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, and front companies as activities that must stop.
“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat,” Trump said.
He also repeated his pledge that Iran will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Bessent said the tougher economic pressure is intended to weaken Tehran’s ability to finance its military and support proxy groups. He argued that additional sanctions, combined with inflation and the blockade, would leave the Iranian government with fewer resources.
He also suggested that the expanded economic campaign could reduce the likelihood of renewed large-scale U.S. military strikes against Iran in the near term.
Iranian officials rejected the administration’s threats. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump’s “Economic D-Day” a diversion from the United States’ growing national debt and argued that further economic pressure would fail. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also dismissed the strategy, claiming Washington was turning to economic warfare after failing to achieve its objectives militarily.
The administration had already stepped up economic and military pressure before this week’s announcement. The Treasury Department launched Operation Economic Fury in April to target Iran’s oil smuggling and foreign procurement networks. The U.S. military also reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports in July.
Trump said Wednesday that negotiations with Iran could resume “at some point.” He maintained that preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon remains the central U.S. objective.