US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has issued a stark warning to countries, banks and businesses helping Iran stay afloat, saying the Trump administration will target those supporting Tehran as Washington steps up its economic pressure campaign.
“We are telling friends and foes, do not deal with this evil regime,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox News’ Fox & Friends on Wednesday (September 2).
“We know who you are, you know who you are, and if we have to, we will put you out of business,” he warned.
Bessent warns Iran’s financial lifelines
Bessent said the Treasury Department is focusing on financial institutions and other outside entities that continue to support Iran despite US sanctions.
He pointed to recent sanctions targeting the Dubai branches of an Egyptian bank, which he said had provided more than $1.8 billion to the Iranian regime since 2025.
The Treasury secretary warned that similar action could be taken against other institutions and companies found to be helping Tehran circumvent US restrictions.
“We are going to systemically go through and take every bad actor like that out,” Bessent said.
Putin and Iran support come under US scrutiny
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also emerged as a focus of the administration’s pressure campaign after pledging support for Iran and vowing to resist US sanctions during a recent summit.
Bessent said new Treasury authorities have expanded Washington’s ability to pursue Iran’s support network across several sectors, including aviation, shipping and digital assets.
He warned that companies continuing to do business with Tehran could face similar consequences.
“This is all hands on deck,” Bessent said, adding that teams from the Treasury and State departments had been engaging with countries and businesses supporting Iran.
Bessent points to Iran’s worsening economic crisis
Bessent said the impact of the US pressure campaign is already being felt inside Iran.
He pointed to hourslong queues at petrol stations, a sharply weakening currency, inflation above 100% and what he described as Iran’s inability to pay its military personnel.
The comments come as Washington combines economic sanctions with military and maritime pressure against Tehran.
US seeks to ‘asphyxiate’ Iranian regime
Bessent described the Trump administration’s strategy as a multi-layered campaign designed to isolate Iran from the global economy.
“We had these six weeks of successful kinetic strikes, then we have imposed the blockade, which is quarantining and isolating the country,” he said.
“Now we are applying sanctions like have never been seen before that are going to asphyxiate the regime,” Bessent added.
The warning signals a broader US effort to cut off Iran’s access to international financial, shipping, aviation and digital-asset networks, while putting pressure on foreign entities that continue to maintain economic ties with Tehran.
