US plans to sanction another bank to keep economic pressure on Iran

Washington intends to impose sanctions on another bank this week as it steps up its campaign to economically isolate Tehran against the backdrop of the deadlocked truce discussions, the US Treasury chief has remarked.

Key points

• In an interview with The Associated Press news agency on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to name the bank to be targeted by sanctions.
• Iran, nevertheless, has rejected the latest US sanctions, with Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Ali Madanizadeh saying they will fail.
• "You're going ⁠to see a lot ⁠more of these every week, " he remarked on Sunday, ahead of a Group of 20 finance leaders ⁠gathering in Asheville, North Carolina.
• He insisted that Beijing and Washington agreed on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
• "This is going to be financial violence if we have to, " Bessent informed AP on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the announcement comes just days after Washington remarked it would cut off the United Arab Emirates's operations of Basque Misr from the US financial system after accusing Egypt's second-biggest bank of doing business with the Iranian administration.

"This is going to be financial violence if we have to, " Bessent informed AP on Sunday. "We are showing people that we know who you are, you know who you are, and this has got to stop."

"You're going ⁠to see a lot ⁠more of these every week, " he remarked on Sunday, ahead of a Group of 20 finance leaders ⁠gathering in Asheville, North Carolina. "We're starting with the banks, and we're telling ⁠the banks it's not OK ⁠to have Iranian money and to aid the regime."

Meanwhile, the US has stepped up efforts to economically pressure Tehran to submit to Washington's demands, a campaign dubbed "Operation Economic Outcast", against the backdrop of the stalled truce negotiations between both parties.

Last week, the Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on almost 60 individuals and entities that Washington accused of being part of networks helping Iran generate oil revenue, procure weapons and conduct cyber-operations.

Violence in the conflict resumed on Sunday, the first time since late July, with Iran launching missiles at two US bases in Jordan after a US attack on Larak Island in southern Iran.

Bessent is preparing to host the session of the G20's finance leaders, where he will huddle individually with his counterparts from the world's major and developing economies to encourage cooperation against Iran.

In practice, the US Treasury chief additionally informed AP that he would speak to his Chinese counterparts at the session and "all options are on the table" in terms of sanctioning Beijing for its continued trade with Tehran.

But he rejected the idea that the US was reluctant to confront China, calling it "a completely false narrative that the media picked up on".

Taken together, the developments around US plans to sanction another bank to keep economic pressure on Iran point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.