The US Treasury has begun what it calls Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign aimed at cutting Iran off from the global financial system. Announced at President Trump’s direction, it is described as whole-of-government and, in Treasury’s words, unprecedented.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed it with a wartime comparison. “In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions,” he said. “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.” He added that countries standing with Washington “will reap the rewards of our partnership,” while those “tethered” to Tehran should expect to share its isolation.
Five sectors added
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued five sectoral determinations under Executive Order 13902. They let the US sanction any person, wherever located, who works in Iran’s digital assets, technology, gold, aviation or shipping sectors. Treasury gave its reasons for each. Iran uses cryptocurrency to dodge sanctions, tries to buy advanced technology for weapons programs, turns to gold to prop up the rial against inflation, flies weapons and cash to proxies on airlines it controls, and ships missile components and oil through its national shipping and tanker lines.
The new determinations follow earlier ones covering the financial and petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
Nearly 60 designations
OFAC also sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels. The targets include a procurement scheme supplying Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics for ballistic missile development and nuclear research, a cyber group directed by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, and a network of brokers, companies and shadow fleet vessels moving Iranian oil. That network spans the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland and Europe, and routes revenue to the IRGC-Qods Force.
The cyber action was coordinated with the FBI, which on August 18, 2026 unsealed a superseding indictment charging 17 Iranian cyber actors. Four of them were designated in this round. The State Department’s Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $10 million for information on foreign-government-directed hackers who attack US critical infrastructure.
The procurement action reaches more than 20 entities and individuals in the Middle East and East Asia. Treasury named Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean Industrial Limited as an intermediary that bought sensitive goods, including laser optics, for Iran’s Malek Ashtar University of Technology. State separately designated seven members of Iran’s defense leadership and two Iranian entities.
Pressure on other countries
Teams from the Treasury, State and War departments are pressing counterparts abroad to act now. Each country will get a defined deadline to shut down the Iran-related activity the US has identified, Treasury said. “If they fail to act, Treasury will act.” Firms that help launder money or evade sanctions for Iran risk losing access to the US financial system.
Treasury also suspended several general licenses that had allowed some remittance payments to Iran and Iranian access to the US cultural and academic system, and issued guidance on the sanctions risks of giving in to Iranian demands over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
