President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran is struggling to pay its troops as the U.S. Treasury Department launches Operation Economic Outcast, a new sanctions campaign aimed at cutting off revenue to Tehran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump said Iran is facing severe economic strain as his administration moves to intensify financial pressure on Tehran through a new Treasury Department campaign targeting the regime’s sources of revenue.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump said Iran is “not paying their troops” and is “in deep trouble.”
The president also said the United States maintains control over maritime traffic around the Strait of Hormuz as part of its broader pressure campaign.
“The strait is open. As you know, the Strait of Hormuz is open,” Trump said. “We have control and we have the blockade. Iran is not getting anything, nothing is going through, not one ship has gotten through.”
Trump’s remarks came as the Treasury Department moved forward with Operation Economic Outcast, an initiative launched under his direction to increase economic pressure on the Iranian government.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the effort as an “Economic D-Day” designed to cut Iran off from revenue streams that support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the broader regime.
The operation is intended to “tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian regime,” Bessent said.
The administration plans to use secondary sanctions as part of the campaign, putting pressure on foreign governments, companies and other entities to sever economic relationships with Tehran.
The strategy is also expected to include the blacklisting of nearly 60 people, businesses and vessels that the administration says are involved in illicit trade connected to Iran.
Secondary sanctions allow Washington to target third parties that continue doing business with sanctioned entities, increasing the potential economic reach of the measures beyond direct U.S.-Iranian transactions.
The new effort represents another step in the Trump administration’s attempt to isolate Iran financially while restricting the flow of money available to the government and the IRGC.
Trump portrayed the sanctions campaign and U.S. control of shipping routes as already placing significant pressure on Tehran, pointing to what he described as problems within Iran’s military payroll and an inability to move goods through the blockade.
The administration’s next phase of pressure will combine sanctions against specific individuals and commercial operations with broader efforts to discourage other countries from maintaining economic ties with Iran.
With Operation Economic Outcast now underway, the White House and Treasury Department are seeking to further restrict Tehran’s access to revenue while expanding the financial consequences for entities that continue facilitating Iranian trade.
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