US to Sanction Another Bank Over Iran Deals, Bessent Says
President Donald Trump’s administration intends to implement sanctions on an additional bank this week as it ramped up efforts to economically isolate Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says.
“This will be financial violence if necessary,” Bessent stated during the interview. “We're demonstrating to people that we recognize your identity, you understand your identity, and this must come to an end.”
Bessent planned to meet one-on-one with his counterparts from major and developing economies to promote collaboration against Iran.
The Trump administration has recently indicated a transition from military attacks to economic pressure in a war that has now lasted six months, pledging an “economic D-Day” against a nation that has endured decades of harsh sanctions.
Nevertheless, tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated on Sunday. U.S. troops targeted Iranian rocket launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, marking their first military operation in a month and ending a period of calm in hostilities. Iran pledged to respond to what it termed a lethal assault.
Moreover, the government has primarily depended on alerts instead of fresh penalties against Iran's trade associates. There is also the issue of how Trump will manage China, Iran's largest trading partner and main purchaser of its oil.
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Bessent informed that he would engage with his Chinese counterparts during the G20 meeting and stated that “all options are on the table” regarding sanctioning Beijing for its ongoing purchases.
He dismissed the notion that the administration was hesitant to challenge China, labeling it “a totally inaccurate story that the media seized upon.” He emphasized that China and the U.S. must concur on the necessity to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and stop Iran from creating a nuclear weapon.
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The Treasury's initial formal step in this economic pressure campaign was a proposed rulemaking on Friday, which would, once finalized, cut off the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt's second-largest bank, from the U.S. financial system.
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By refraining from sanctioning the Egyptian bank, the Republican administration seemed to indicate its hesitance to punish significant trading partners engaged with Iran, such as China and India.