JERUSALEM, Israel – The United States is doubling down on an economic boycott of Iran and anyone who helps the Islamic regime. Yet, despite the economic focus, the Trump administration has not ruled out a military operation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the launch of “Operation Economic Outcast” on Monday, aimed at what he called “the economic asphyxiation” of the Tehran regime and the sanctioning of any nations trying to lend assistance.
“Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the evil Iranian regime,” he declared. “We are enforcing a zero-leakage approach. There will be no minimal breathing space for the regime to rebuild its capacity to inflict terror against America and the world.”
In a press conference, Bessent revealed that President Trump is calling world leaders, asking them to “cease their interactions with the regime.”
“No one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions – that if they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression – they will be targeted,” he said.
Bessent added, “We know who they are, they know who they are. So, when the hammer of U.S. Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”
Concerning the Iranian leaders, he cautioned, “With this regime, trying to buy appeasement will no longer work in the eyes of the United States of America.”
Iran’s foreign minister claims the U.S. is violating international law.
Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned, “The United States, with no justification and no basis in any international law or regulation, uses coercion and intimidation to restrict or force other countries into cutting off trade ties with other nations.”
Iranian state media also released a video, putting a $10 million bounty on 20-year-old Barron Trump, the president’s youngest son.
The U.S. Secret Service told CNN it is aware of the threat.
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U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth observed that the sanctions don’t rule out military operations against Iran.
“Economic pressure, we know, hurts them the most right now, but by no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere, in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan in a post on X, writing: “Congratualations@REAL DONALD TRUMP and SECRETARY@SCOTTBESSENT on the latest sanctions against the Iranian regime. You justly exact a steep price from that cruel dictatorship and from those who assist its continued aggression.”
