Scott Bessent says US pressure on Iran bites as Gulf nations tighten economic screws

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Iran is beginning to affect the country’s international business links, pointing to restrictions imposed by Turkiye, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.The campaign centres on Operation Economic Outcast, launched by the US Treasury on August 24 as a broad effort to cut Iran’s access to international finance and other economic channels. The Treasury says the campaign is targeting networks involved in oil smuggling, sanctions evasion and the movement of money linked to Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.Bessent said treasury officials had been sent to different countries to press their governments to restrict dealings with Tehran.“These efforts are delivering results. Türkiye and Oman announced the cessation of Mahan Air flights to their countries. The UAE has halted all flights by Iranian airlines, and top commercial banks in the UAE and Türkiye have stopped transacting with Iran,” Bessent posted on X.He added, “We will continue working together as there is more to be done to prevent Tehran from carrying out its terrorist agenda.”Washington expands sanctions pressureThe US campaign has also focused directly on Iran’s aviation sector. On September 8, the treasury sanctioned 36 targets linked to Iran’s aviation industry, including foreign intermediaries and companies accused of helping Iranian airlines obtain aircraft, equipment and other services. The measures expanded earlier sanctions targeting Mahan Air to other Iranian airlines.The Treasury says Operation Economic Outcast is designed to cut off the financial channels that support the Iranian government and the IRGC. Washington has also warned foreign institutions that continuing to facilitate transactions linked to Iran could expose them to US sanctions.The pressure has extended to the banking sector. In August, the Treasury moved against Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking access to the US financial system, while later actions targeted financial institutions and networks accused of helping Iran evade sanctions.Bessent also shared an assessment by economist and Brookings Institution senior fellow Robin Brooks, who argued that Iran's position in negotiations had weakened sharply as economic pressure and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz intensified.“The drumbeat of negativity on the blockade and sanctions more broadly isn’t well informed. The economic picture in Iran is deteriorating rapidly and the US has easy ways to drastically ramp up Iran’s economic isolation. No regime stays in power for ever and Iran’s won’t either. It’s on much shakier ground than most people think,” Brooks said in his essay on the decline of the Iranian economy.Pressure comes amid continuing warThe economic campaign comes as the wider US-Iran conflict continues, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining a major point of tension. Shipping through the waterway has fallen sharply during the conflict, although some vessels continue to pass through it.The situation has also disrupted regional trade and raised shipping and insurance costs, adding pressure to businesses across the Gulf.The diplomatic track remains uncertain. With Washington rejecting an Iranian proposal for a seven-day ceasefire as a starting point for negotiations, the conflict continues to carry both military and economic risks.The US campaign is therefore operating on two fronts at the same time. Washington is maintaining military pressure while using sanctions and diplomatic pressure on other countries to further restrict Iran’s access to international finance, aviation and trade.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.