US Warns Allies, China to Join ‘Crushing’ Economic Campaign to Isolate Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would pursue what Trump has described as the “most crushing” economic operation ever against Iran, following months of military confrontation and growing domestic pressure over the war.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The United States on Thursday urged its allies and China to join President Donald Trump’s campaign to economically isolate Iran and pressure its government toward collapse, signaling a shift toward intensified economic pressure as the conflict with Tehran approaches its six-month mark.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would pursue what Trump has described as the “most crushing” economic operation ever against Iran, following months of military confrontation and growing domestic pressure over the war.
“It is going to work in Iran and we are going to collapse this regime,” Bessent told CNBC.
He said Washington expects both allies and rivals to participate in the campaign, describing it as “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”
“We are going to them and saying you are either with us or against us,” Bessent said.
Asked whether the United States would pressure China to participate, Bessent said some discussions were better held privately but urged Beijing “to get with the program.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the White House on September 24, with Iran expected to be among the issues discussed. The Iranian conflict was also raised during Trump’s visit to Beijing for a summit in May.
Bessent said the expanded economic campaign could reduce the likelihood of the United States returning to large-scale military operations against Iran.
“If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” he said, while stressing that this assessment applied “for now.”
The Treasury secretary is expected to provide further details of the new economic measures against Iran during a press conference on Monday.
Iran has rejected the US plan. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Trump’s proposed campaign as a diversion from Washington’s domestic economic problems, pointing to what he described as unprecedented US debt and rising interest costs.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry separately condemned the US sanctions threats as “economic terrorism.”