Trump unleashes swathe of sanctions on Iran 'enablers'

Trump unleashes swathe of sanctions on Iran 'enablers' Submitted by Yasmine El-Sabawi on Mon, 08/24/2026 - 18:23 The US Treasury Secretary did not name the targets of 'Operation Economic Outcast' or offer a timeline for implementation US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters to outline further sanctions against Iran, at the Treasury Department in Washington, DC on 24 August 2026 (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Off US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced a new wave of sanctions against Iran and its "enablers", towards what he described as an "asphyxiation of this regime" amid the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz. "Iran now faces a very clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy," Bessent told reporters in Washington, DC. It remains unclear how "a path to normalcy" may work, given the Trump administration has only ever tightened sanctions on Iran since its first iteration in the White House in 2017.