US launches ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ to choke Iran’s economy, targets 5 sectors

The Trump administration on Monday launched “Operation Economic Outcast” to cut off Iran from global economic networks and tighten pressure on the Islamic Republic as efforts to resolve a six-month-old conflict remain stalled.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States would target five sectors that Washington considers critical to Iran’s ability to generate revenue and evade sanctions: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.

“We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent said at a press conference. “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”

The administration said the new measures would expand the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign companies and institutions that continue doing business with Iran.

Bessent said Washington was adopting a “zero-leakage approach” designed to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its economic capacity.

“An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power,” Bessent said.

The announcement follows a warning from Bessent that an “economic D-Day” was coming for Iran.

In an opinion article published in the Financial Times, he said the United States would mount “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary” and seek to sever the economic lifelines sustaining the Iranian government.

President Donald Trump had issued a similar warning last week, calling for what he described as the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY.”

Trump warned that countries allowing financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities to provide Iran with “any type of lifeline” would face “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.”

He specifically cited Iranian oil smuggling, financial swap arrangements, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries and front companies as targets.

The administration said any entity facilitating money laundering on behalf of Iran could be cut off from the US dollar financial system.

The campaign marks an escalation in Washington’s economic pressure on Tehran, which has been subject to extensive US sanctions for decades, dating back to the aftermath of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Bessent also warned countries that facilitate Iranian trade and financial transactions that they could face consequences.

“Iran’s enablers purchase and transport its petroleum,” he wrote, accusing them of facilitating seaborne fuel transfers and illicit use of financial institutions.

“These countries calculate appeasement of the regime to be the safer course. But they would do well to consider the consequences of sustaining it,” he wrote.

The administration is seeking to intensify pressure on Tehran as the two sides remain without meaningful negotiations to end their six-month-old conflict.

The countries have not exchanged military strikes for several weeks, but diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement have stalled.

The White House said the campaign follows US military action that it says dismantled Iran’s military capabilities and severely damaged its nuclear program.

Iran’s economy was already under severe pressure from years of sanctions, high inflation, a weakening currency, energy shortages and structural problems before US and Israeli attacks damaged parts of its infrastructure.

The conflict has further disrupted trade and production while leaving Tehran with the added burden of rebuilding damaged infrastructure.

Bessent said Iran now faced a choice between “complete global isolation and a subsistence economy” and a return to normal economic relations.

“The clock just started ticking,” he said.