Not a single drop of oil would be exported from the Persian Gulf if the US continued its economic war against Iran, Tehran said on Sunday.
The remarks came after US President Donald Trump announced the “most crushing economic operation” against Iran and warned countries doing business with Tehran of “tremendous” consequences.
On Monday, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent spoke of Trump’s “economic D-Day” and said Washington was moving towards its strongest financial campaign yet against Tehran.
“We are now entering the endgame. Trump created the conditions for the US government to use the full scope of its powers against Iran, he added. This will be economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last Wednesday. “Importing frozen meat to fix meat prices. Okay, that might work. What’s the plan for bonds, import frozen yields? Frozen homebuyers for housing? Frozen paychecks for wages? A frozen foreign policy delivers a frozen economy. The only thing still moving? It has drawn strength from a calculus that regards Iranian retaliation as certain and American enforcement as negotiable. Under President Trump, that era is over. And those who fear the danger of defying Tehran ought not to discount the cost of testing Washington,” he added.
Bessent said the US was entering the “endgame” of its war on Iran and planned to use its economic powers to cut off financial channels supporting the Iranian government. At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary,” Bessent said. He also accused Iran of treating security guarantees as a form of “extortion” and said that Tehran was operating on the assumption that Iranian retaliation would be certain while US enforcement could be negotiated. “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said. Financial institutions, businesses, airports and government entities that provide support to Iran would face “tremendous” consequences, he said. The Iran boomerang,” he said earlier. Iranian officials, though, said Tehran would not reopen the waterway until Washington met conditions, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets and easing oil sanctions. Earlier reporting noted: What Scott Bessent Said What Scott Bessent Said Earlier reporting noted: “The world should understand that our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said, echoing US President Donald Trump’s remarks, who first threatened an “economic D-Day” against Iran last week.
Earlier reporting noted: “The Islamic Republic has subsisted by dressing extortion as security guarantees. “Today, I am announcing the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country. On Sunday, Iran’s Parliament agreed to charge fees on ships using the waterway.
