Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to outline President Donald Trump’s expanded economic campaign against Iran on Monday, with the administration signaling tougher sanctions aimed not only at Tehran but also at foreign companies, financial institutions and governments that continue providing Iran with commercial lifelines.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will detail the Trump administration’s planned escalation of economic pressure against Iran during a Monday press conference expected to clarify how Washington intends to target Tehran’s oil revenues, financial networks and foreign trading partners.
The Treasury Department said the press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
President Donald Trump has characterized the coming campaign as an “economic D-Day” and promised measures reaching beyond Iranian entities to countries, companies and financial networks that continue helping Tehran participate in the global economy.
Bessent said this week that the administration would disclose specifics Monday as it prepares what officials are describing as the toughest sanctions campaign imposed on Iran.
The strategy is expected to build upon existing U.S. restrictions while significantly increasing the use of secondary sanctions and other economic penalties against third parties that facilitate Iranian trade.
Trump previewed the approach Wednesday, warning that countries whose institutions or businesses continue supporting Iran could face major repercussions.
The president said any nation whose financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities provide “any type of lifeline to Iran” would face “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.”
Trump specifically identified oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries and front companies, declaring that they “all need to stop NOW.”
Bessent has described the broader objective as creating the “greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”
Speaking to CBS News, he said Washington is effectively asking allies and adversaries alike to decide whether they will participate in the effort to isolate Tehran.
The Treasury secretary has also described the combination of sanctions and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports as a “one-two punch,” while saying the administration intends to impose the “toughest sanctions in history.”
Iran’s oil industry is expected to be at the center of the campaign because petroleum exports remain Tehran’s primary source of foreign currency.
Reuters reported Friday that Iranian oil offers to Chinese buyers had fallen sharply as the American blockade restricted exports, with shipments to China already substantially below their 2025 average.
China purchases more than 80% of Iran’s seaborne oil exports, making Chinese refiners and traders one of the most important pressure points in Washington’s strategy.
Bessent has publicly urged Beijing to “get with the program.”
He has not, however, said whether China itself will be directly targeted by the measures announced Monday.
The New York Times reported Friday that Washington was preparing actions directed at countries purchasing Iranian oil, potentially placing China under particularly heavy pressure because of its dominant role as a buyer of Iranian crude.
China has rejected the U.S. pressure campaign.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Friday that sanctions and coercion would not resolve the conflict and called instead for a diplomatic settlement.
Beyond petroleum exports, Treasury is expected to focus heavily on the financial infrastructure Iran uses to collect oil proceeds and finance international commerce.
The department has already sanctioned Iranian banks, currency exchanges and foreign companies accused by Washington of moving Iranian oil revenue or helping Tehran circumvent existing restrictions.
An Aug. 7 Treasury action targeted Shahr Bank and two exchange houses based in Dubai.
The department said those entities assisted Iranian oil exporters in recovering hundreds of millions of dollars in petroleum revenue.
Bessent said at the time that Treasury would continue working to sever such networks from access to the U.S. financial system.
Monday’s announcement may therefore represent a substantial expansion of an already established strategy rather than an entirely new sanctions framework.
The major change could come from Washington’s willingness to impose consequences on foreign participants that continue handling Iranian oil, financing, shipping or other commerce.
Bessent has said the administration’s ultimate objective is to exert enough financial pressure to bring about the collapse of Iran’s government.
He has also argued that overwhelming economic pressure could make another major round of military operations less likely.
“If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” Bessent told CNBC, according to CBS News.
Iranian leaders, however, are signaling that they intend to resist rather than capitulate.
Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, said Friday that Tehran would respond to new U.S. pressure with a “crushing, punishing and devastating” response, according to Reuters.
Abdollahi said Iranian forces were prepared across land, sea, air and cyberspace.
Tehran is simultaneously trying to reinforce its economy against additional U.S. restrictions.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Friday that the country must devise ways to overcome what he called “unjust” American sanctions, reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar and increase economic cooperation with neighboring countries.
Reuters reported that Ghalibaf characterized the American strategy as both economic and psychological warfare.
Iran is also seeking to expand regional commercial relationships that could help offset pressure from Washington.
CBS News reported Friday that Tehran had finalized a preferential trade agreement with Oman following Trump’s announcement of the new economic campaign.
The confrontation is already affecting oil markets and Iran’s ability to supply its largest customer.
Reuters reported that available Iranian crude for Chinese buyers has tightened substantially. Remaining supplies are increasingly being offered at premiums rather than the steep discounts that had previously characterized much of the trade.
Those changes suggest that the U.S. blockade and existing sanctions are already disrupting Tehran’s oil business before the additional measures are formally announced.
The administration continues to maintain that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon and has portrayed economic isolation as a means of forcing Tehran to change course without immediately returning to large-scale combat.
The United States is simultaneously maintaining its blockade of Iranian ports, combining physical restrictions on exports with financial pressure against the networks facilitating Iranian trade.
Monday’s Treasury announcement is expected to determine how far that strategy will extend beyond Iran itself.
Key questions include whether Washington will directly penalize major foreign purchasers of Iranian oil, how aggressively Treasury will target banks and exchange networks moving Iranian funds, and whether shipping companies, registries, airports and government entities in third countries will be subjected to secondary sanctions.
For Tehran, the expanding campaign threatens the remaining international channels through which it earns hard currency and conducts foreign trade.
For Washington, Bessent’s appearance will mark the point at which Trump’s promise of an unprecedented “economic D-Day” begins taking the form of specific sanctions and enforcement measures.
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