The Trump administration has threatened an ‘Economic D-Day’ for Iran and vowed to sanction countries which don’t cut economic ties with the nation.
Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, wrote in an inflammatory opinion piece in the Financial Times about how Trump and the US military have ‘significantly dismantled Iran’s military capabilities and weakened its nuclear programme’.
He added: ‘The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace.
‘Iran’s enablers purchase and transport its petroleum. They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones. They welcome Iran’s flights and maintain registries on its behalf. They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and the illicit use of their banks, all while concealing the extent of their complicity.’
Bessent went on to praise Trump for doing what his ‘predecessors refused to’ but said that countries who continue to enable their economy will face an ‘economic D-Day’.
‘At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary,’ he said.
Last week, |Trump shared his hardline approach to the conflict on Truth Social, writing: ‘Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW.’
Iran’s largest trading partners include Turkey, China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates, but just last week, the UAE said it was stopping all trade and financial transactions with Iran.
China, which buys the majority of Iran’s oil, hasn’t recognised previous sanctions from the Trump administration and is unlikely to despite recent threats.
As the war enters its sixth month with no sign of abating, tensions elsewhere are continuing to rise.
Last week, it was revealed that cyber hackers linked to Iran shut down a UK power plant for four days.
The incident, which occurred in July, involved an unidentified small energy generator, according to The Telegraph.
Hackers unlikely had civilian harm in mind when targeting the power plant, though it is reportedly the first time Iran-linked crooks knocked one offline.
The National Cyber Security Centre, part of the spy agency GCHQ which investigates attacks on infrastructure, declined to comment as it does not routinely acknowledge individual incidents.
Fears of Iranian-linked cyber attacks have been high since the US and Israel launched a deadly attack on Iran in February, igniting a war.
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