The United States has launched a sweeping financial pressure campaign against Iran, dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, aimed at cutting off the revenue streams that fund Tehran’s government. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the initiative.
The strategy focuses on five sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. It includes new sanctions on 60 entities, vessels and individuals across several countries, among them the UAE, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Switzerland.
At its core, the plan seeks to force other nations and businesses to choose between engaging with Iran or preserving access to the US financial system, with secondary penalties threatened for those facilitating Iranian oil transactions.
Washington’s stated goals are to compel Iran back to nuclear negotiations and to halt attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, an escalation following months of conflict that reshaped the region without delivering a political resolution.
For European governments navigating their own relationships with Tehran and Washington, the campaign poses a delicate test of how far they will align with US pressure.
