Trump urges countries to pick US trade over Iran as fresh sanctions approach

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, unveiled a new sanctions package called "Operation Economic Outcast" that will further isolate Iran’s economy. The plan seeks to cut off Iranian export routes, especially through the Strait of Hormuz, and to freeze remaining foreign-currency holdings, which have fallen from $122 billion to $12 billion, according to Trump’s earlier figures. President Donald Trump contends that this strategy revives the successful Maximum Pressure campaign of his first term, which he says slashed oil exports from 2.5 million to under 400,000 barrels per day.

He criticises the current administration for lifting sanctions without extracting concessions, noting that Iran’s oil output has rebounded to 1.6 million barrels per day. Trump warns that businesses dealing with Tehran will be deemed complicit in terrorism and barred from the U.S. financial network, urging allies to wind down any remaining ties. The sanctions come amid Iran’s recent support for Hamas and continued nuclear advancement, which Trump says make the new pressure essential to compel a deal that would require Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and regional hostilities.