The United States is preparing what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling an “economic D-Day,” an intensified financial campaign designed to further isolate Iran and cripple its economy.

Bessent is scheduled to hold a news conference Monday detailing stronger U.S. sanctions against Tehran. In a Financial Times opinion piece published Sunday, he described the effort as the largest financial offensive ever assembled against an adversary and compared the campaign to the resolve shown by the Allied powers during World War II.

Bessent, who previously taught economic history at Yale University, invoked Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill while warning other countries against what he characterized as economic appeasement of Iran.

The Trump administration has increasingly relied on sanctions and restrictions on Iranian oil exports as part of its campaign against Tehran.

Bessent argues that existing sanctions are already placing severe pressure on Iran’s economy, pointing to high inflation and growing difficulties selling the country’s oil.

Reuters reported last week that offers of Iranian crude to Chinese buyers have fallen while prices have increased as U.S. restrictions have reduced Tehran’s shipments. China has been a major destination for Iranian oil despite longstanding American sanctions.

The new measures are expected to expand that financial pressure by targeting Iran’s ability to sell oil and conduct international financial transactions, while also putting additional pressure on countries and companies that continue doing business with Tehran.

Bessent’s unusually dramatic “D-Day” description signals that the administration views financial and economic measures as a major component of its broader confrontation with Iran, seeking to weaken Tehran without relying solely on military action.

Source: Axios, Reuters