Trump threatens 'Economic D-Day' for countries that help Iran

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration says it will be unveiling dramatic new measures against Iran next week that it hopes will cripple the nation's ailing economy and drain Tehran of the resources its needs to stay in the war.
President Donald Trump said in an Aug. 19 social media post that an "ECONOMIC D-DAY" is coming for countries that lend any other type of lifeline to Iran, including U.S. allies and any nation that allows Tehran to use its airports or its financial institutions. Oil purchases, cash transfers, swap lines and ship registries are among the list of actions Trump listed as triggers for punishing actions.
"It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are," Trump wrote. "This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat."
The threat was accompanied by a warning from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that additional sanctions were on the way that he would announce at a news conference on Aug. 24. The Cabinet secretary indicated on Aug. 13 that the measures were part of a tactical shift, nearly six months into a war that's shown no signs of stopping. Both countries have said no negotiations are taking place, and they remain in dispute over who controls the Strait of Hormuz and whether the waterway is open. In the meantime, the U.S. has halted its bombing campaign and turned its attention to financially weakening Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi criticized the strategy on social media on Aug. 19 as a distraction from the United States' own economic problems and warned that the measures could drag down the global economy.
"The so-called 'Economic D-Day' is a diversion from America's own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs," Araghchi said. "Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat - and enmity of Iranians. US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide."
The United Arab Emirates said earlier in the day that it was suspending trade and financial transactions with Iran after it came under fire from ballistic missiles. After the announcement and Trump's post, the price of oil ticked up.
Appearing on CNBC on Aug. 20, Bessent said he was confused by the spike. "I'm not sure why oil has popped up on this, because this, for now, for now, and it is at the president's discretion, if we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart," he said. "But I would emphasize that is for now."
Bessent said the U.S. aims to stop Iran, where inflation is already heightened, from being able to pay for its military and fund proxy groups. He said the U.S. would also be putting the squeeze on American allies who help Iran.
"You are either with us or against us," Bessent said of America's allies. "And if you insist on doing business with them, either transferring money, buying their oil, doing seaborne ship transport, then the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. government, they will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you. So it is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision."
Trump said on Aug. 18 that no talks of any kind are taking place with Iran, leaving negotiations to end the unpopular conflict in a stalemate.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the United States' naval blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect and that mines in the Strait of Hormuz had been removed or detonated.
"There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating," Trump stated.
"They have trapped themselves in a quagmire and, in order to justify their failures, they are forced to change their objectives," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Aug. 17, according to state news agency Tasnim.
The U.S. has dug in its heels in a conflict that's increasingly roiled members of Trump's political party over elevated gas prices and cost of living increases, with the Pentagon pledging to maintain its blockade "indefinitely."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump threatens 'Economic D-Day' for countries that help Iran