Scott Bessent announces new sanctions against Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new round of sanctions aimed at Iran on Monday and warned every country that does business with the Islamic Republic to sever those financial ties or face retaliation from the United States.

President Donald Trump's pledge last week to unleash an "economic D-Day" against Tehran turned out to be new warnings to cut off Iran from the rest of the global economy. Asked why the US was not imposing secondary sanctions on Iran's trading partners, Bessent told reporters he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late.

"Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" Bessent said.

The Trump administration is struggling to find an off-ramp nearly six months into an unpopular war with an increasingly obstinate Iran. Washington had promised new sanctions would put even more pressure on an Iranian economy already battered by previous penalties and a US naval blockade.

But the announcement Monday provided little detail and did not name which countries could face secondary sanctions. China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are Iran's largest trade partners.

Asked whether the US would target China, Bessent said that "no one is above the reach of US sanctions," despite the fragile trade truce in place between the world's two largest economies.

Experts say the US is likely to carefully calibrate its actions on China, just a month before Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to visit the US.

The Treasury Department said Monday that it was imposing sanctions on nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, accusing them of roles in Iran's nuclear and missile programs, cyber activities and oil shipments.

That includes Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean Industrial Limited and associated people and businesses, which were accused of helping Iran acquire sensitive goods such as laser optics equipment. Also penalized was China-based Shenzhen Huamei, which is a service provider for the Iran-based logistics company BRE Line, as well as BRE Line's branch in Hong Kong, for allegedly supporting the missile and nuclear programs.

Hours before Bessent's announcement, Iran's currency hit a record low.

The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the US dollar as trading opened on currency markets. Iran's official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million rials to the dollar, but the market rate is what most Iranians pay.