US Treasury Secretary Plans Weekly Sanctions to Increase Pressure on Iran

The United States plans to deliver a fresh round of sanctions against Iran every week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters, beginning with banks.

Bessent said the measures would target institutions that hold Iranian money or assist the Iranian government. He said the next step could involve cutting an institution off completely from the dollar-based financial system.

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You are going to see many more of these every week.

“You are going to see many more of these every week,” Bessent said before a meeting of G20 finance ministers. “We are starting with the banks, and we are telling the banks that it is not acceptable to have Iranian money and to help the regime.”

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We are starting with the banks, and we are telling the banks that it is not acceptable to have Iranian money and to help the regime.

He said he would press G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs to end economic ties with Iran. Countries that continue those links, he said, could face secondary sanctions.

The Treasury Department announced sanctions on Friday against branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr in the United Arab Emirates over alleged financial connections to Iran. Bessent said Iran’s “supporters can no longer continue to have access to the US dollar and the global financial system.” He described the action against Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, as “the first step toward holding the bank accountable for its continued, egregious support for the Iranian regime.”

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Iran’s supporters can no longer continue to have access to the US dollar and the global financial system.

The measures against the bank branches will not take effect until after a monthlong public consultation period.

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The first step toward holding the bank accountable for its continued, egregious support for the Iranian regime.