Bessent Threatens “Toughest Sanctions” on Iran and its Supporters including China

[ABS News Service/21.08.2026]

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that the United States will impose what he called “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran, although the Administration has yet to release the measures it promised to announce this week.

Mr. Bessent said he would hold a news conference Monday to provide details. Speaking on CNBC, he described the Administration’s strategy as a “one-two punch” combining economic sanctions with the US blockade of Iran.

“It is going to work in Iran, and we are going to collapse this regime,” he said.

His comments followed a Wednesday evening social-media post in which President Trump declared an “ECONOMIC D-DAY” against Iran and threatened severe consequences for countries that continue providing Tehran with economic support.

Mr. Trump called the initiative “the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY,” but did not identify specific sanctions, targets, penalties or implementation dates.

The President said any country that permits its financial institutions, companies, airports or government agencies to provide Iran with “any type of lifeline” would face “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.” He identified oil smuggling, currency-swap arrangements, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries and front companies as activities that must stop.

Extensive Secondary Sanctions

China presents the biggest test of the proposed sanctions. It buys more than 80 percent of Iran’s seaborne oil, according to 2025 data from commodities-analytics firm Kpler. Sanctioning major Chinese banks, refiners or shipping companies could provoke retaliation and add another source of friction between the world’s two largest economies.

Mr. Bessent argued that Beijing should cooperate because China receives about half of its energy from the Gulf and would benefit from reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The Administration has been trying to pressure Tehran to restore normal passage through the waterway and agree to terms ending the nearly six-month war.

The campaign’s effectiveness could also depend on enforcement in the United Arab Emirates, particularly Dubai, which has long served as a source of Iranian imports and a conduit to the international financial system. The UAE this week suspended trade and financial transactions with Iran until further notice.