Bessent Calls Bahrain to Discuss "Operation Economic Outcast" Against Iran
Treasury Secretary stresses Iran must not use Hormuz as economic leverage and vows to hold the regime's financial enablers accountable as Washington builds Gulf coalition for its unprecedented sanctions campaign
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent held a call on Tuesday with Bahrain's Minister of Finance and National Economy, Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, to discuss what Bessent's office described as "Operation Economic Outcast," the formal name now given to Washington's unprecedented financial campaign against Iran, stressing that Tehran must not be permitted to threaten international commerce or use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the global economy.
The call, announced on Bessent's official X account on Tuesday, revealed for the first time the operational name of the broader sanctions and financial pressure campaign that the Treasury Secretary declared on Monday as Economic D-Day, the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary. The designation of the campaign as Operation Economic Outcast signals that Washington has moved beyond ad hoc sanctions designations into a formally named and coordinated multi-agency operation with its own strategic identity.
Bessent stressed to Sheikh Salman the importance of sustained financial pressure on Iran's remaining economic lifelines and underscored that the United States will hold the regime's financial enablers accountable, a warning directed at any institution, government, or individual that continues to provide Tehran with access to international financial networks, trade routes, or commercial channels.
The Treasury Secretary welcomed Bahrain's longstanding partnership and its continued commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the international financial system. The two officials agreed on the importance of continued coordination between the United States, Bahrain, GCC partners, and the broader international community to combat illicit finance and strengthen economic security.
Bahrain's role in the conversation is significant for two reasons. Bahrain hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, making it the most directly integrated Gulf state in America's military operational posture throughout the conflict. Bahrain was also among the Gulf states subjected to sustained Iranian drone and missile attacks during the most intense phase of the conflict, absorbing 391 attack drones and 174 ballistic missiles according to data compiled during the war. Its Minister of Finance being among the first Gulf officials Bessent contacted to discuss Operation Economic Outcast reflects Washington's recognition that Bahrain's financial system, sitting alongside its military partnership, makes it a critical node in the effort to sever Iran's remaining economic lifelines.
The call to Bahrain follows Bessent's declaration of Economic D-Day at dawn on Monday in which he wrote on X that the objective is "to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone." China's Foreign Ministry responded on Tuesday with a direct warning that Beijing's cooperation with Iran operates within international law and must not be disrupted, as Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei separately threatened that Tehran will target the interests of any country helping the United States wage economic warfare against the Islamic Republic.
Bessent's choice to frame the campaign as Operation Economic Outcast places it within a tradition of named American military and diplomatic operations, giving the financial pressure campaign a coherence and identity that reinforces its seriousness to both allies and adversaries. The name itself, Economic Outcast, signals Washington's intent to exclude Iran entirely from the international economic order, rather than to apply targeted pressure designed to produce behavioral change at the margins.