The United States will likely impose new secondary sanctions on Iran every week, with banks and financial institutions becoming the first targets in Washington’s expanding economic pressure campaign against Tehran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Bessent said the Trump administration plans to intensify its sanctions campaign in the coming weeks, warning that foreign banks and financial institutions that help Iran hold, transfer or process funds could face US sanctions. He said Washington’s goal is to further isolate Iran from the global financial system.
According to Bessent, the campaign will begin with banks, and institutions that continue doing business with Iran could ultimately lose access to the US dollar financial system, one of the strongest tools in Washington’s sanctions arsenal.
The warning follows the launch of the Treasury Department’s new sanctions drive, dubbed “Operation Economic Exclusion,” which aims to expand secondary sanctions beyond Iranian entities to foreign companies and financial institutions that facilitate transactions linked to Tehran.
As part of the first phase of the campaign, the United States targeted branches of a major Egyptian bank operating in the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of helping facilitate financial transactions connected to Iran. US officials have indicated that additional financial institutions could be sanctioned in the coming weeks.
The measures come as Iran faces mounting economic pressure from declining foreign currency reserves, reduced oil revenues and tighter restrictions on international banking. Washington is seeking to discourage banks and businesses around the world from maintaining financial ties with Tehran by threatening penalties on third-party institutions.
