Treasury Secretary Bessent Warns of Unprecedented Economic Isolation for Iran, Vows New Measures Next Week

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the United States is preparing to impose levels of economic isolation on Iran never before applied to any country, combining intensified financial pressure with the ongoing naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Appearing on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Bessent told host Rob Schmitt that additional sanctions and related actions would be announced in the coming days. “Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of the economic isolation of a country,” he said. He described the approach as “a combination of economic isolation, like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports.”

Bessent framed the latest push as the next phase of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran. After President Donald Trump ordered the restoration of maximum pressure last year, the Treasury Department expanded efforts to cut off revenue streams to the Iranian regime and its proxies by targeting bank accounts, cryptocurrency wallets, overseas assets, oil sales, shadow banking networks, weapons procurement channels, and sanctions-evasion operations. Following the kinetic phase of U.S. military operations earlier this year, which Bessent referred to as “Operation Epic Fury,” the administration shifted emphasis to what he called “Economic Fury.” At the president’s direction, he said, the intensity of those economic measures has been raised further.

The strategy has already disrupted tens of billions of dollars in revenue for Iran and its affiliated groups, according to Bessent. He pointed to the collapse of a major Iranian bank late last year and subsequent inflationary pressures as evidence that the financial campaign is having an effect. The physical blockade of Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz remains a central component, intended to prevent both imports and exports from moving freely.

Bessent rejected claims by some Democratic critics that Iran has emerged stronger from the confrontation. He described those assessments as “uninformed, deranged,” and disconnected from the economic realities facing the regime. The remarks come amid ongoing efforts to stabilize global energy markets and reduce prices for American consumers while denying Tehran the resources needed to sustain its activities or advance its nuclear program.

The harder line follows earlier comments from Bessent in which he had expressed optimism that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached relatively quickly. The latest statements signal a renewed focus on sustained economic coercion rather than rapid diplomatic resolution. Administration officials have consistently tied the economic campaign to broader goals of limiting Iran’s ability to fund proxies, threaten shipping, and pursue weapons programs.

Further details of the new measures are expected next week. Bessent’s interview underscored the administration’s view that combining comprehensive financial isolation with control of key maritime chokepoints offers the most effective path to pressuring Tehran.