US Targets Third Countries Trading with Iran with 'Secondary Sanctions', Launching 'Operation Economic Outcast'

▲ U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces economic sanctions on Iran

The Donald Trump administration announced a new package of sanctions against Iran on the 24th (local time), which includes imposing secondary sanctions on other countries that engage in specific trade with Iran.

During a press conference at the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., that day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced, "Today, we are launching 'Operation Economic Outcast' to shut off every option available to the Iranian regime."

Specifically, the U.S. decided to impose secondary sanctions on third countries that conduct transactions with Iran involving digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and maritime shipping.

Secondary sanctions involve imposing measures such as tariffs on third countries that do business with designated entities, and are also referred to as third-party sanctions.

Additionally, the Treasury designated more than 60 entities, individuals, and vessels worldwide as new targets for sanctions, accusing them of helping the Iranian regime acquire nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and generate oil revenues.

Secretary Bessent stated, "The Treasury has mapped every hub, every intermediary, and every network that Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions," adding, "Starting today, we are tightening the noose further to cut off all potential revenue sources funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the malign Iranian regime."

He further stated, "We are implementing a 'zero leakage' approach," expressing the administration's resolve to choke off the Iranian regime's funding channels even more thoroughly.

Secretary Bessent also warned that "any institution that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be cut off from the U.S. dollar system."

Secretary Bessent's announcement that day had been anticipated.

Following the military operations against Iran initiated on February 28, which failed to achieve goals such as prohibiting Iran's nuclear weapons and ensuring free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. has shifted the direction of its blow against Iran toward economic sanctions.

In response to a question regarding whether the measures include China, Iran's largest export and import partner, Secretary Bessent did not directly mention China, but stated, "No one is beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions."

(Photo: Getty Images)

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