US Treasury secretary says new economic measures will ‘collapse’ Iran

According to United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has, a new series of economic measures will "collapse" the Iranian administration, calling on countries to join the effort.

Key points

• On Thursday, for instance, the Trump administration expanded the sanctions against Iran and its allies by designating 10 individuals associated with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese group.
• When the US and Israel introduced an initial volley of attacks, iranian forces have restricted passage since the war began on February 28.
• Among the 10 targeted for sanctions was a Turkish businessman, accused of helping to funnel funds to Hezbollah's base.
• Asked whether China would be targeted, Bessent declined to offer a direct answer on Thursday, saying instead that some conversations are best conducted "in private".
• Bessent on Thursday reiterated the Trump administration's position that defeating Iran would have benefits for countries the world over.

Bessent informed the news service CNBC on Thursday that the US would apply the "toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, its adversary in a almost six-month-long war.

"It is a one-two punch. We have the blockade, and we are going to have the toughest sanctions in history, " Bessent remarked. "It is going to work in Iran, and we are going to collapse this regime."

He then offered a warning to the members of the international community that they too could face economic penalties if they continue to trade with Iran.

"We're going to them and saying: You're either with us or against us, " Bessent remarked. "If you insist on doing business with them – either transferring money, buying oil, doing seaborne ship transport – then the US Treasury and the US government, they will put its full might and force towards enforcing against you."

He billed the US's strategy as the "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world".

"It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision, " Bessent continued.

For context, the secretary's comments follow an announcement from US President Donald Trump a day earlier, promising "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country" would be unleashed on Iran.

He additionally threatened "tremendous consequences" for any country that continues to engage economically with Iran.

But what form such penalties could take – and whether they would be applied to powerful countries like China – remains to be seen.

He suggested that all countries should share an interest in isolating Iran, citing the economic impact of Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for the export of Middle Eastern oil.

Prior to the war, traffic flowed freely through the waterway. Reopening the strait has since become a key US aim in ceasefire negotiations, with global oil rates rising since the start of the war.

For context, the conflict has additionally spurred tensions between the US and its allies, numerous of whom declined to participate directly in the war effort. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at those countries for not doing enough to support.

"We are confident that everyone wants the strait reopened, and for energy prices to come back down, " Bessent remarked. "Keep in mind that the Chinese obtain 50 percent. Of their energy from inside the Gulf. So it would do them a major service to secure with the programme."

Notably, the US has long sought to isolate and weaken Iran, even before the start of the current war.

But while decades of sanctions have weakened Iran and its allies, critics have been sceptical of their effectiveness in achieving US priorities in Iran, like regime change.

For now, US Treasury secretary says new economic measures will 'collapse' Iran remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.