Shafaq News- Washington

The United States launched an unprecedented campaign to cut Iran off from global economic and financial networks, imposing sanctions on 60 entities, individuals, and vessels linked to its nuclear, missile, and oil sectors, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Monday.

President Donald Trump directed the operation as a campaign targeting Iran and those supporting or enabling it, Bessent said, adding that Washington had identified networks involved in moving Iranian oil and circumventing US sanctions.

The Treasury Department also suspended general licenses that had allowed certain financial transfers to Iran. The measures target companies and vessels linked to Iran’s “shadow fleet” in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Switzerland.

Bessent warned countries facilitating Iranian oil smuggling or allowing their banks to serve Iran that they could face US action. “Washington will give affected countries deadlines to halt specified activities, including the closure of overseas branches of Iranian banks.” Any entity facilitating money laundering for Iran will risk exclusion from the US dollar-based financial system, Bessent also warned, declaring that “no one is beyond the reach of US sanctions. 

.@SecScottBessent: "The final refuge of this regime is the mistaken conclusion of nations that still finance the Iranian threat in the hopes of evading it. It is no longer acceptable to operate in the gray spaces of this conflict." pic.twitter.com/wRTADQcHVD

— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) August 24, 2026

The measures target five sectors that Bessent described as vital channels used by Iran abroad: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and maritime shipping. Bessent also warned that countries continuing to facilitate transactions with Iran would face consequences. “Washington would sanction a major financial institution by the end of the week over its dealings with Tehran.”  He invoked the Allied landing in Normandy during World War II to describe the scale of the campaign and accused Iran of “causing more deaths and injuries among US citizens and troops than any other terrorist regime.”

The US Treasury Secretary noted that the strength of the US economy allows Washington to sustain the financial campaign alongside its military power, explaining that officials had identified “every point of contact, every facilitator and every network” used by Iran to move oil and evade sanctions.

Earlier Monday, Reuters reported that Washington was preparing to warn countries to cut economic ties with Iran or risk having their companies excluded from the US dollar-based financial system. The report, citing a source familiar with Treasury plans, said Bessent would announce measures expanding potential secondary sanctions against entities and countries maintaining economic ties with Iran.

The latest measures build on Washington’s broader campaign targeting Iran’s oil trade and shadow fleet, including previous sanctions against shipping companies and vessels involved in Iranian petroleum exports.