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The U.S. Treasury Department is expected Monday to broaden the scope of secondary sanctions it can impose on entities and countries that maintain business ties with Iran as the Trump administration seeks to increase economic pressure on Tehran, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the plans.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to announce more details of the Iran measures at a news conference at 1 p.m. EDT.
The action is aimed at giving a final warning to countries to sever business ties with Iran in an effort to force an end to the nearly six-month conflict, which has bottled up the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf energy exports, the source told Reuters.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Bessent would also provide a broader overview of the economic pressure campaign that he and President Donald Trump have described as an “economic D-Day.”
The message, according to the report, is that countries must side with the United States or risk having key companies and entities cut off from the dollar-based financial system.
Bessent last week described the coming action against Iran as the “toughest sanctions in history,” saying that, along with the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, the measures would reduce the need for new “kinetic” military operations against Iran.
Trump said Monday that Iran was “collapsing” as Washington prepared to announce details of the new economic pressure campaign, which Tehran has derided as an admission of defeat.
“IRAN IS COMPLETELY COLLAPSING!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
His remarks came hours after Bessent, in a column for the Financial Times, said an “economic D-Day” had begun against Tehran and warned that any country that continued to enable the Islamic Republic would become a “global pariah.”
Bessent also claimed on X that the United States had “dismantled Iran’s military capabilities, destroyed nearly 100 percent of its military factories, and buried its nuclear program.”
Nearly six months into the war, the two sides remain locked in a stalemate, with peace talks stalled, Iran keeping the key Strait of Hormuz shut and Washington maintaining a naval counter-blockade of Iran.
Under political pressure at home over the economic effects of the conflict, Trump has shifted away from military action toward economic pressure.
Iran responded with defiance, saying the latest U.S. measures were an admission of military failure and warning other countries against aiding Washington.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on X that the U.S. turn to financial warfare proved Bessent’s claims false.
“Your narrative doesn’t add up,” Gharibabadi said, asking why, if Washington had achieved its goals, there was a need for “the largest financial invasion in history” and the mobilization of “all institutions and powers” of the United States.
“Is this a victory or an admission of America’s defeat?” he said.
Tehran also warned countries not to cooperate with the U.S. efforts.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said taking part would “definitely have its own consequences.”
The United States and Israel linked the launch of their war in February to Iran’s nuclear program, but the focus since the early days of fighting has been on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas supplies.
Tehran continues to blockade the strait, which it did not restrict before the war, driving up global inflation and adding domestic pressure on Trump ahead of midterm elections in November.
The U.S. naval blockade of Iran has pushed Tehran’s oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz down from 2 million barrels per day before the war to 400,000 barrels per day by mid-August, according to maritime tracker Kpler.
Iran has been under heavy international sanctions for decades, with a brief period of easing under the 2015 nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign.
Before the war, Iran continued to export millions of barrels of oil, mostly to China, and evade sanctions through complex international financial networks.
Bessent and Trump have both warned countries against helping Iran, signaling a shift in focus toward nations that Washington says “appease” and “enable” Tehran.
For ordinary Iranians, the standoff is likely to bring more economic pain after years of high inflation, which fueled mass anti-government protests in December and January.
Sarah Hassanbeigi, a 32-year-old pharmacist in Tehran, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that conditions were increasingly difficult.
“It’s really very difficult,” she said. “I don’t think people can really take this much longer.”
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged that Iran faced “many problems in society.”
“We are striving with all our hearts to overcome inflation, livelihood problems, unemployment, and to secure the future of the people, so that they can live with dignity and pride,” Pezeshkian said.
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Last week, Pezeshkian, considered a relative moderate, said Tehran should “bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity.”
That followed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s appointment of hard-liners to key security positions.
Hassanbeigi said she wanted peace.
“Naturally, negotiations mean that both sides have to compromise,” she told AFP. “My personal opinion is that Iran should compromise now.”
Throughout the war, diplomatic efforts backed by mediators have sought a negotiated end to the conflict.
Pakistan’s army chief was expected in Iran on Monday.
Islamabad was a leading mediator in talks that helped secure an April cease-fire that later collapsed.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi was also due in Iran on Tuesday, as Muscat and Tehran seek a deal on regulating passage through Hormuz.
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