US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday the start of a large-scale campaign aimed at the Iranian economy, threatening 'massive' penalties for any country that provides assistance or conducts business with the Islamic Republic.
This intensified campaign of economic pressure comes as the war approaches its sixth month, and no immediate diplomatic or military exit from the crisis is visible, while the vital Strait of Hormuz remains significantly blocked.
With the November elections approaching, Trump is also facing increased domestic scrutiny regarding the cost of the war to US consumers and the strain on military forces.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'Today I am announcing THE MOST DEVASTATING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER undertaken against ANY COUNTRY! This will be an economic war and isolation on an unprecedented scale.'
He stated that 'ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government structures to provide any form of support to Iran will face MASSIVE economic consequences.'
Although he did not specify what punishment awaits the countries, nor name any countries other than Iran, he listed several activities that, according to him, must be immediately stopped: 'oil smuggling, swap lines, money transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, shell companies.'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent similarly stated last week that the US will soon intensify efforts to economically isolate Iran through a bilateral approach involving a US naval blockade.
Bessent told the conservative television channel Newsmax that this would be 'a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before.'
The US Treasury Department has been running an operation called 'Operation Economic Fury' for months, aimed at stopping funding for Iran through targeted sanctions.