By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE U.S. is planning to sanction a ‘major financial institution’ by the end of the week, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The move came as the government launched “Operation Economic Outcast”, the Trump administration’s latest effort to use economic tools to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war with Iran.
As part of the measure, the US has sanctioned 60 entities and individuals, cutting off their access to the U.S. financial system.
The Treasury said the sanctions target a network of “brokers, companies, and shadow fleet vessels” operating across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland and Europe.
It said these transport Iranian oil and channel revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC‑QF) and other regime elements.
Announcing “Operation Economic Outcast”, Mr Bessent said: “I would expect that you will see a major announcement of a financial institution being sanctioned by the end of this week”.
He did not name the institution or give any further details.
Bessent said any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran “will be removed from the U.S. dollar system. The clock just started ticking.”
Operation Economic Outcast
Additionally, the operation expands the categories for secondary sanctions on entities and countries that transact with Iran.
It also introduces new sanctions across a variety of sectors, including digital assets, gold, aviation, technology and shipping.
The new measures will broaden the Treasury’s authority to sanction any foreign person operating in or providing services to those sectors of the Iranian economy.
As part of the move, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple jurisdictions.
The Treasury said the sanctioned entities “enable the Iranian regime’s recklessness, including illicit nuclear and missile technology procurement, cyber operations, and oil‑revenue generation networks”.
Those listed included a number of China- and Hong Kong-based companies and individuals.
“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Mr Bessent said.
The Treasury said that Operation Economic Outcast will sever the economic lifelines that sustain the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The Treasury has mapped the networks, facilitators, and financial channels that Iran uses to smuggle oil, evade sanctions, and fund terror,” it said.
“Working with our partners across the U.S. government, Treasury will be uncompromising in targeting any source of the regime’s illicit revenue.
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