WASHINGTON: The United States Treasury Department is preparing to announce new secondary sanctions against Iran on a weekly basis, initially targeting banks as Washington intensifies efforts to isolate Tehran economically, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday.
Speaking to Reuters ahead of a Group of 20 finance leaders’ meeting, Bessent said the administration would continue penalising financial institutions accused of handling Iranian funds or facilitating transactions linked to Tehran.
His comments followed US penalties imposed on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr on Friday over alleged financial connections with Iran.
Washington Signals Tougher Action Against Banks
Bessent said future measures could go further by completely excluding targeted institutions from the US dollar-based financial system.
“We’re starting with the banks,” he said, adding that Washington intended to make clear that institutions should not hold Iranian funds or assist the Iranian government.
Moreover, Bessent said he would urge G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to sever economic links with Iran or risk facing US secondary sanctions.
“There can be no leakage,” he said, presenting governments and financial institutions with a stark choice between maintaining access to the US financial system and continuing economic engagement with Tehran.
Bessent Downplays Need to Target Chinese Companies
Meanwhile, Bessent rejected arguments that Washington must impose secondary sanctions on Chinese companies for its Iran strategy to succeed.
He said the US blockade of Iranian ports had already sharply reduced China’s purchases of Iranian oil.
Furthermore, Bessent claimed the volume of Iranian crude stored aboard tankers was declining, describing the problem as effectively addressed.
The planned weekly measures signal that Washington intends to expand economic pressure beyond Iranian entities and increasingly target foreign institutions maintaining financial relationships with Tehran.
Consequently, banks and other international companies dealing with Iran could face mounting pressure to choose between Iranian business and continued access to dollar transactions and the wider US financial system.
