The Trump administration unveiled its ‘economic D-Day’ plan intended to decimate Iran’s already teetering monetary environment with what has been dubbed the ‘toughest sanctions in history.’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday afternoon that the US would roll out sanctions against countries and entities that do any business with the Islamic Republic.

‘The United States Treasury has begun Operation Economic Outcast, an unprecedented campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers,’ Bessent said at a press conference.

‘We are launching an economic onslaught on Iran’s connections around the globe. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.’

The drastic escalation could prompt nations and businesses to sever their remaining trade ties to Tehran to maintain access to the US financial system. 

China and others have continued to purchase Iranian oil during the war despite warnings from US officials, and the announcement serves as a notice that those transactions could elicit economic consequences.

The new sanctions target digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, Bessent shared.

‘No one is above the reach of US sanctions,’ Bessent said when asked about China’s trade ties to Tehran.  

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unrelieved on Monday new secondary sanctions on counties and entities that do business with Iran

The announcement sent the Iranian currency – the rial – plummeting to its lowest rate in history

One US dollar now can purchase over 1.3 million Iranian rials 

Bessent had been signaling for a week that the move would be the ‘toughest sanctions in history,’ saying that the new economic crackdown could replace ‘kinetic’ strikes that have been a hallmark of the nearly six-month war. 

The gambit is intended to pressure nations still doing business with Iran in hopes that the additional sanctions will cripple the nation’s economy and bring its leadership back to the negotiating table with US counterparts.

The move also serves as a final warning to countries still doing business with Iran that they could be swept up in the US-Iran conflict if they continue trading with Tehran.

While the US has been sanctioning Iran for decades, the new additional categories of sanctioned goods and services open up the regime’s trading partners to new penalties.

‘We’re winning against everyone, including Iran, whose Country is in an economic and military death spiral,’ Trump posted on social media Monday. 

While Iran has been under strict US sanctions for years, the regime has devised ways to avoid crackdowns on its oil, aviation, weapons and cryptocurrency sectors. 

While the sanctions restrict Iran from accessing the dollar-based financial system, the country has set up shell companies and other fronts to avoid them. 

Bessent warned that anyone who offers a financial lifeline to Iran could be at risk of being targeted by US sanctions. 

The announcement prompted Iran’s currency – the rial – to drop to historic new lows. 

As of Monday afternoon, 1.3 million rials can purchase a single US dollar, according to currency exchanges.

The nation has been suffering from skyrocketing inflation since the war broke out and Trump imposed a strict blockade on the Islamic Republic.