Trump Gives 'Economic D-Day' Warning   08/25 06:09

   Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new round of sanctions aimed at 
Iran on Monday and warned every country that does business with the Islamic 
Republic to sever those financial ties or face retaliation from the United 
States.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new round of 
sanctions aimed at Iran on Monday and warned every country that does business 
with the Islamic Republic to sever those financial ties or face retaliation 
from the United States.

   President Donald Trump's pledge last week to unleash an "economic D-Day" 
against Tehran turned out to be new warnings to cut off Iran from the rest of 
the global economy. Asked why the U.S. was not imposing secondary sanctions on 
Iran's trading partners, Bessent told reporters he wanted countries to have an 
opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late.

   "Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" Bessent said.

   The Trump administration is struggling to find an off-ramp nearly six months 
into an unpopular war with an increasingly obstinate Iran. Diminishing 
stockpiles of key weapons appear to have forced U.S. officials to pivot to 
economic warfare, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said later Monday that 
he was not ruling out resuming strikes to hit Iran during a lull in hostilities.

   Washington had promised new sanctions would put even more pressure on an 
Iranian economy already battered by previous penalties and a U.S. naval 
blockade.

   But the announcement Monday provided little detail and did not name which 
countries could face secondary sanctions. China, Turkey and the United Arab 
Emirates are Iran's largest trade partners.

   "We are level-setting with every country to tell them our expectations. We 
know who they are. They know who they are," Bessent said. "So when the hammer 
of U.S. Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but 
themselves."

   Dubbing the campaign "Operation Economic Outcast," Bessent said Trump has 
been "making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their 
interactions" with Iran and has already seen results.

   The UAE announced last week that it was suspending all trade, commercial 
exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice after a 
reported missile attack on the Gulf country. Bessent said the UAE decision was 
"not a coincidence."

   Shortly before the announcement, Iranian parliamentary Speaker Mohammad 
Bagher Qalibaf said the U.S. is not in an economic position to further restrict 
Tehran's relations with other countries.

   "Iran's trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, 
have made it clear that they don't take these statements into account 
anywhere," Qalibaf, who has been Iran's lead negotiator over the past six 
months, posted on X.

   Bessent is pressed on what the new campaign means for China

   Asked whether the U.S. would target China, Bessent said that "no one is 
above the reach of U.S. sanctions," despite the fragile trade truce in place 
between the world's two largest economies.

   "If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns 
Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted," he added.

   Experts say the U.S. is likely to carefully calibrate its actions on China, 
just a month before Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S.

   How much the announcement matters "depends on the aggressiveness with which 
President Trump is willing to enforce it," said Ali Wyne, senior research and 
advocacy adviser for U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group. 
"Thus far, despite threatening severe economic consequences for countries that 
do business with Iran, he has largely given China a pass."

   The Treasury Department said Monday that it was imposing sanctions on nearly 
60 Iran-linked entities, accusing them of roles in Iran's nuclear and missile 
programs, cyber activities and oil shipments.

   That includes Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean Industrial Limited and associated 
people and businesses, which were accused of helping Iran acquire sensitive 
goods such as laser optics equipment. Also penalized was China-based Shenzhen 
Huamei, which is a service provider for the Iran-based logistics company BRE 
Line, as well as BRE Line's branch in Hong Kong, for allegedly supporting the 
missile and nuclear programs.

   Iranian currency falls to a record low

   Hours before Bessent's announcement, Iran's currency hit a record low.

   The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on 
currency markets. Iran's official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million 
rials to the dollar, but the market rate is what most Iranians pay.

   The currency had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel 
attacked Iran on Feb. 28, as Iran faced double-digit inflation and negative 
growth. The rial has repeatedly hit new lows as nearly six months of war have 
taken an even greater toll.

   Iranians find daily staples increasingly unaffordable. Since the war began, 
rice is up some 60% and beef prices are more than 150% higher. The 
International Monetary Fund forecasts that gross domestic product will contract 
more than 5%.

   Still, economic pressure has not yet translated into political pressure. 
Iran retains a key strategic advantage: Its attacks and threats on ships in the 
Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic in the vital waterway to a near halt, 
damaging the world economy and heaping pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump 
ahead of congressional elections.

   The war, as a result, has devolved into a fight over who controls the 
strait, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil transited before the 
conflict. Iran is now refusing to fully reopen it unless it can charge ships.

   Iran and Oman, which is on the opposite side of the strait, are reportedly 
in the final stages of agreeing on a plan for joint management of the waterway. 
Oman's foreign minister is set to visit Iran on Tuesday.

   Pakistani delegation visits Iran

   Pakistan, which played a key role in brokering a 60-day ceasefire in June, 
sent a high-level delegation to Iran on Monday to encourage the U.S. and Iran 
to return to negotiations, two senior officials said. The officials spoke on 
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

   The military confirmed only Field Marshal Asim Munir's visit, saying it was 
aimed at de-escalating tensions in the region.

   Trump spoke with Munir ahead of the army chief's visit to Iran, according to 
a person familiar with the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity to 
confirm a private conversation. Reuters, citing Pakistani sources, first 
reported the call.

   Munir met Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni in Tehran, according to 
the two senior officials. Munir was accompanied by Pakistani Interior Minister 
Mohsin Naqvi and other officials. Munir was expected to remain in Iran 
overnight and meet the Iranian president and other senior officials before 
returning to Pakistan.

   His previous visit to Tehran in May helped pave the way for a memorandum of 
understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran in June.

   In downtown Tehran, 73-year-old Sadegh Mahmoudi did not hold out hope for a 
resolution. He joined a line of about a dozen people to purchase U.S. dollars 
with his remaining savings to hedge against further declines.

   "There is no hope for a deal and peace," he said.