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- The Trump administration unveiled a plan to isolate Iran’s economy by threatening to impose secondary sanctions on the “enablers” that allow the Islamic Republic to stay in business.
- The plan dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast” quickly drew questions about whether the U.S. would also go after China, Iran’s top trading partner.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that China would not be exempt.
watch nowVIDEO04:05Treasury Secretary Bessent signals China not exempt from Iran sanctions planThe Exchange
The Trump administration on Monday announced a plan to isolate Iran’s economy by threatening to impose secondary sanctions on the “enablers” that allow the Islamic Republic to stay in business.
The plan dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast,” which President Donald Trump had hyped as Iran’s “Economic D-Day,” quickly drew questions about whether the U.S. would also go after China, Tehran’s top trading partner.
Washington and Beijing have maintained a fragile trade truce for months, following an escalatory trade war last year. Trump and President Xi Jinping met for a pageantry-laden summit in Beijing in May, and Xi is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington in late September.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, unveiling the new sanctions plan Monday afternoon, suggested that China would not be exempt.
“We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” Bessent said when asked if the administration would target Chinese banks, or if it would avoid doing so in order to preserve relations with Beijing.
“If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted,” Bessent said.
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