Bessent Announces the Launch of Washington's 'Largest Economic Attack' on Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Washington would launch what he called its "largest economic attack" on Iran in the early hours of Monday, 24 August 2026 (2 Shahrivar 1405). According to Donya-e-Eqtesad, citing the Mehr news agency, he described the move as the largest attack of its kind in history, aimed at cutting off vital economic arteries and deepening Tehran's isolation.

Bessent said countries that tie their fate to Tehran would find their routes to sustainable prosperity restricted, and added that any military action against US forces or the Persian Gulf states would draw a swift response from the US president.

In response, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote on social media that if the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf, adding that Iran would treat any country's participation in or support for the economic war as an "act of war." The remarks extend the sanctions pressure Washington had promised over the past week.