The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, announced that the United States will impose 'the toughest sanctions in history' against Tehran, while hinting that plans to increase economic pressure mean that large-scale military attacks by the U.S. against Iran are unlikely to resume in the near future:
'This is one or two strikes. We have the blockade of [Iranian ports], and we are preparing to impose the toughest sanctions in history,' Bessent told CNBC yesterday. 'This will work in Iran, and we will bring down this regime':
Bessent's statements came a day after President Donald Trump's threats against Iran. Trump threatened to apply 'economic warfare and massive isolation' against Iran and warned that any country supporting Iran would face serious economic consequences:
In addition to pressuring Tehran, 'any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any kind of vital support to Iran will also face huge economic consequences,' Trump wrote on Truth Social:
'This will be the largest systematic economic isolation ever implemented in world history,' Bessent said. 'And we are reaching out to [our allies] and saying: you are either with us or against us':
Neither Trump nor Bessent provided nearly any details:
Bessent told CNBC that he would hold a press conference on August 24, during which he would 'talk about what exactly they are planning to do':
The Iranian Foreign Minister had previously stated that the U.S. President's announcement of the toughest economic sanctions against Iran was merely an attempt to 'distract attention from the crisis in the U.S.':
