The Trump administration is preparing what it calls an “economic D-Day” against Iran, promising an unprecedented campaign of financial pressure as the nearly six-month Iran war continues and Tehran faces growing economic and military challenges.
President Donald Trump said the US would impose an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation on Iran, aiming to force its leadership to end its nuclear programme and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and gas tankers.
The move comes as Trump faces pressure over an increasingly unpopular war months before crucial midterm elections that will decide whether Republicans retain control of Congress. His administration is turning again to sanctions against one of the world’s most heavily penalised economies.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US could impose secondary sanctions on countries and companies doing business with Iran, warning that Washington would use its full economic power.
“If you insist on doing business with them, then the US Treasury and US government will put its full might and force against you,” Bessent said. “It’s time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision.”
The administration’s campaign, known as “Operation Economic Fury,” has previously targeted individuals and entities buying Iranian oil or dealing with its financial system. China and India are among major buyers of Iranian oil.
Supporters of the policy argue that decades of sanctions, combined with recent military pressure and restrictions on Iranian trade, could push Tehran towards capitulation.
Richard Goldberg, who worked on Iran pressure efforts during Trump’s first term, said the current situation was different from previous sanctions campaigns.
“I think we’re watching a strategy, whether it takes a short time or a long time, that is very much about fundamentally changing the future of the world by seeing the end of this regime,” he said.
However, he warned against overconfidence.
“I caution everyone – including myself, who has worked on sanctions, who’s worked on financial warfare — to have the humility to admit that we are in uncharted waters,” he said.
The United Arab Emirates’ decision to suspend trade with Iran over an alleged missile attack could further isolate Tehran, experts said. The UAE had previously helped Iran absorb some sanctions-related economic pressure through its role as a re-export hub.
The latest measures resemble Trump’s first-term “maximum pressure” campaign, but analysts warn that expanding sanctions to US allies and trading partners could create economic and diplomatic challenges for Washington.
“Trump’s strategy now rests on targeting Tehran directly by impeding its touch points and access to the formal financial system and international economy,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran programme.
Iranian officials rejected the pressure campaign, arguing that decades of sanctions have failed to force Tehran into submission.
“Iran has demonstrated over decades that it will not be strangled by these exhausted refrains,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said.
Ali Vaez, Iran director at the International Crisis Group, said escalating pressure without offering a diplomatic pathway could prove ineffective.
“I think (Trump’s) blind spot is the fact that the only thing that the Iranian regime views as more dangerous than suffering from US sanctions is surrendering to US terms,” Vaez said.
“They believe that even if they capitulate to US terms under economic duress, Trump would move the goalposts and ask for more,” he added. “And this is really the fundamental problem: Pressure without an open door is an exercise in futility.”
