Bessent Outlines Plan for Iran's 'Economic Asphyxiation'; Tehran Puts Bounty on Barron Trump
JERUSALEM, Israel – The United States is doubling down on an economic boycott of Iran and anyone who helps the Islamic regime. Yet, despite the economic focus, the Trump administration has not ruled out a military operation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the launch of "Operation Economic Outcast" on Monday, aimed at what he called "the economic asphyxiation" of the Tehran regime and the sanctioning of any nations trying to lend assistance.
"Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and the evil Iranian regime," he declared. "We are enforcing a zero-leakage approach. There will be no minimal breathing space for the regime to rebuild its capacity to inflict terror against America and the world."
In a press conference, Bessent revealed that President Trump is calling world leaders, asking them to "cease their interactions with the regime."
"No one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions – that if they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression – they will be targeted," he said.
Bessent added, "We know who they are, they know who they are. So, when the hammer of U.S. Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves."
Concerning the Iranian leaders, he cautioned, "With this regime, trying to buy appeasement will no longer work in the eyes of the United States of America."
Iran's foreign minister claims the U.S. is violating international law.
Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned, "The United States, with no justification and no basis in any international law or regulation, uses coercion and intimidation to restrict or force other countries into cutting off trade ties with other nations."
Iranian state media also released a video, putting a $10 million bounty on 20-year-old Barron Trump, the president's youngest son.
The U.S. Secret Service told CNN it is aware of the threat.
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U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth observed that the sanctions don't rule out military operations against Iran.
"Economic pressure, we know, hurts them the most right now, but by no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere, in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran," he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed the plan in a post on X, writing: "Congratualations@REAL DONALD TRUMP and SECRETARY@SCOTTBESSENT on the latest sanctions against the Iranian regime. You justly exact a steep price from that cruel dictatorship and from those who assist its continued aggression."
About The Author
Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel fulltime for more than 20 years.
Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN – first as a graduate student in Journalism; then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91; and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009.
As a correspondent for CBN News, Julie has covered Israel’s wars with Gaza, rocket attacks on Israeli communities, stories on the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights, as well as stories on the return of the Jewish people to their biblical homeland and archaeological stories that backup the Bible. She has traveled to Tanzania to cover Israeli doctors giving life-saving heart surgery to children there; to Poland to cover Holocaust-related events; to Paris to cover the Jewish response to the rise in anti-Semitism there; and Portugal to cover events surrounding the Bnei Anusim – Jews forced to convert to Catholicism during the Spanish Inquisition, many of whom would now like to be recognized as Jews and return to Israel.
Julie is also an integral part of CBN News’ award-winning “Jerusalem Dateline”, a weekly show about events in the Middle East that is translated into multiple languages and has a broad viewership across the world.
As the Jerusalem Bureau Chief for CNSNews.com, from 1999-2008, Julie covered Israel’s pullout from Lebanon; traveled to both Egypt and Jordan to cover aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process; covered the Second Intifadah, from 2000-2005 when terror attacks were sometimes a daily occurrence, Israel’s 2005 Disengagement from Gaza and the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Her work included almost daily contact with Israeli and Palestinian officials.
While working as a news writer for METV, Julie covered the historic fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.
Julie received her bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Florida State University and master’s degree in Journalism from Regent University before heading to Israel, in 1987. She enjoys playing the guitar, having guests for Sabbath Eve meals, exploring, traveling, meeting people and gardening.
