Bessent to unveil ‘toughest sanctions in history’ against Iran in Monday news conference


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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to unveil new sanctions against Iran as part of the “Economic D-Day” President Donald Trump has promised. He will hold a news conference Monday to detail what he says will be a massive new financial offensive against Tehran.

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Writing in the Financial Times, Bessent called it “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary.”

Bessent says the goal is to cut off every economic lifeline supporting Iran’s government, while warning countries that continue doing business with Tehran that they could face consequences of their own.

Trump’s previous pledge

Bessent’s announcement comes just days after Trump promised what he called the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” in a Truth Social post.

As Straight Arrow previously reported, Trump threatened massive financial penalties against any country that helps Iran evade U.S. sanctions, warning of “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.”

Trump called it “Economic D-Day,” saying Tehran has had plenty of opportunities to make a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war but has refused.

Iran issues a response

Iran is already warning countries not to take part.

The head of Iran’s top security body says any country that joins the U.S. economic campaign will be considered an “enemy,” and has threatened to harm their interests.

Iran’s president, however, is still defending the memorandum of understanding signed with Washington in June as the best path to ending the war, even though its 60-day deadline has expired and both sides have previously declared the deal dead.

Meanwhile, Iran and Oman are set to continue talks Tuesday over the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

The two sides have been negotiating for weeks over how ships could move through the critical waterway, including possible fees and designated shipping routes.

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Why this story matters

The U.S. is launching what officials describe as a sweeping new sanctions campaign against Iran, with explicit warnings that other countries doing business with Tehran could face financial consequences.

Energy costs tied to the strait

Negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz — a critical route for global oil shipments — remain unresolved, a condition the article presents as ongoing and unsettled.

Third-country trade pressure

According to Trump and Bessent, nations that continue trading with Iran risk facing U.S. financial penalties, which could affect supply chains and trade relationships that touch American consumers and businesses.

Deal status remains contested

Iran's president is still defending a June agreement as viable, while both sides have previously declared it dead, leaving the diplomatic situation, according to the article, unresolved.

Straight Arrow
Fear No Fact.

Don't just take our word for it.


Center-rated reporting

According to media bias experts at AllSides

AllSides Center-rated reporting May 2026

Transparent and credible

Awarded a perfect reliability rating from NewsGuard

100/100

Welcome back to trustworthy journalism.

Find out more

Bias comparison

  • Media outlets on the left frame sanctions as coercive escalation—“economic D-Day,” “economic warfare,” and possible “economic destruction”—foregrounding humanitarian, legal, Iranian, and Chinese objections while questioning whether pressure works.
  • Media outlets in the center attribute competing positions, notes mediation, oil-flow uncertainty, retaliation risks, and balanced U.S.-Iran claims.
  • Media outlets on the right stress leverage and regime change, using “crushing,” “collapse this regime,” and “totalitarian regime” to portray Tehran as hostile and the campaign as potentially victorious.

Media landscape

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408 total sources

Key points from the Left

  • Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary, warned that countries joining the U.S. Economic sanctions against Iran would be considered enemies and face retaliatory actions.
  • Iran and Oman are negotiating the management and navigation of the Strait of Hormuz, including plans to impose fees on transiting ships.
  • Egypt and Iran are engaged in discussions to restart negotiations between Tehran and Washington, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi briefing Egypt on Iran's perspective and regional security concerns.
  • Iran has expressed strong opposition to U.S. Economic measures and threatened tit-for-tat actions against countries involved in economic warfare.

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Key points from the Center

  • On Saturday, Mohsen Rezaei, leader of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, threatened neighbors against joining U.S. Efforts to squeeze Tehran's economy, warning they would be considered enemies.
  • President Trump recently vowed to impose an "unprecedented" level of economic warfare on Iran, while Rezaei's appointment this month is widely seen as hardening Tehran's political and military stance.
  • "We will target their interests," Rezaei said, vowing to disrupt shipping routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz if neighbors join the economic war and warning Iran will "retaliate in a seismic manner" if the U.S. Acts.
  • Meanwhile, Tehran has helped some ships carrying Iraqi oil transit the Strait of Hormuz; Iraqi President Nizar Amidi confirmed this facilitation Saturday, though compensation details remain unclear.
  • Arguing that international monitoring provides no protection against attack, Tehran claims the United States has increased global nuclear insecurity, signaling a shift toward a more aggressive regional posture.

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Key points from the Right

  • The US plans to unveil the toughest sanctions in history on Iran to isolate its economy and pressure its leaders to end the war, as stated by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
  • Iran warned countries against joining the US-led economic war, calling them enemies and threatening to harm their interests, according to Mohsen Rezai, head of Iran's supreme national security council.
  • China criticized the US sanctions initiative, claiming it would not resolve the Middle East conflict, while the UAE suspended trade and financial transactions with Iran.

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