US plans weekly Iran sanctions, starting with foreign banks
What's next: Treasury may cut some institutions off from the dollar system as Washington presses G20 countries to sever economic ties with Tehran.
The Trump administration plans to roll out new secondary sanctions on Iran every week, beginning with banks that handle Iranian funds, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Aug. 30. The campaign follows Aug. 28 penalties on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt's Banque Misr over alleged financial links to Iran. Bessent said Treasury could next move to bar an institution entirely from the dollar-based financial system. He also said he would urge G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to cut economic ties with Iran or risk similar penalties. Treasury has labeled the effort Operation Economic Outcast. Bessent said Iranian oil sales to China had already been curbed by a US blockade of Iranian ports.