U.S. Launches Operation Economic Outcast to Isolate Iran

The United States has launched Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign designed to isolate Iran financially through the weekly imposition of secondary sanctions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the initiative at a G20 finance meeting, stating the U.S. will employ financial violence by targeting foreign banks and partners that deal with Iranian funds, threatening to cut them off from the dollar-based financial system.

This economic escalation follows a cycle of military strikes. On Sunday, the U.S. struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island to prevent the deployment of sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliated on Monday by striking two U.S. military bases in Jordan, claiming to have caused significant damage.

As an initial measure of the campaign, the U.S. Treasury targeted the UAE operations of Egypt's Banque Misr for allegedly processing $1.8 billion for Iranian shadow-banking networks. Russia and China have both rejected the measures, with Moscow pledging to coordinate with Tehran to counter the restrictions and Beijing defending its trade with Iran as lawful.