THE Trump administration on Monday delivered its promised threat of sweeping secondary sanctions against countries continuing to trade with Iran, warning of an “economic onslaught” designed to isolate Tehran. Yet the measures, billed as an “economic D-Day” for Iran, stopped short of imposing immediate penalties on key trading partners including China, the UAE and Turkey.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington was launching a campaign to persuade governments and companies to sever commercial ties with Iran after nearly six months of conflict between the two countries.

The measures expanded the categories of Iran-related activity that could be subject to secondary sanctions and designated nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels linked to Iranian oil exports, sanctions evasion, cyber operations and procurement networks.

The US Treasury also suspended several general licences covering remittance payments and certain cultural and academic exchanges with Iran, while issuing fresh guidance warning shipping companies of sanctions risks associated with complying with Iranian demands in the Strait of Hormuz. 

“We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent told reporters. “Economic asphyxiation of this regime.”

However, despite promises of what Bessent had described in a Financial Times article as “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary”, the package largely consisted of threats of future action rather than immediate penalties against Iran’s largest commercial partners.

Bessent said President Donald Trump was personally contacting world leaders with “specific requests” to end commercial ties with Tehran and indicated countries would be given time to wind down business before facing unilateral US sanctions.

The announcement comes as Washington seeks to ratchet up pressure on Iran after six months of conflict that has failed to produce a decisive military or diplomatic breakthrough. While the US blockade of Iranian ports, reimposed in mid-July, has already reduced Iranian crude exports to China, the US Treasury avoided naming any countries or financial institutions that could be targeted next.

Asked why Chinese banks were absent from the latest sanctions package, Bessent insisted that “no one is above the reach of US sanctions”, adding that Washington preferred “quiet diplomacy” while making clear its expectations to trading partners. He also warned that a major financial institution could face sanctions later this week over Iran-related activities but declined to identify the target.

Among those designated were Dubai-based shipbroker Mohammad Ahmed Suhil Fattouh, known as “Captain Hamzah”, and his company Amdeh Ship Management and Operation Co, which Treasury alleges brokered vessels for sanctioned Iranian entities including the National Iranian Oil Company and Sepehr Energy.

The US Treasury also sanctioned UAE-based broker Ivan Obukhov and his company Foscom FZE, alleging they facilitated Iranian oil shipments and processed more than $100m in cryptocurrency payments linked to oil sales for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Singapore-based Azure Shipping Limited, its former owner Mansoor Tayabbhai Gandhi and related chartering and trading businesses were also designated for their alleged role in supporting Iranian petroleum exports. Bunkering companies Shipoil Limited, Shipoil FZCO and Ship Fuels and Trade DMCC were sanctioned for supplying fuel and services to vessels linked to Iran’s shadow fleet* and state-controlled shipping interests.

Despite the breadth of the designations, sanctions specialists described the package as more evolutionary than revolutionary.

“So far this appears to be just the threat of additional secondary sanctions under authorities that Treasury has had since 2020,” said Claire O’Neill McCleskey, a former Treasury official and co-founder of Clarity Compliance Consulting. “Every single thing they did today could have been done under a normal no-fanfare Iran maintenance tranche.”

Analysts said the credibility of Washington’s threats would ultimately depend on whether it is willing to target major Chinese energy companies, banks and other institutions involved in Iran-related trade.

Markets appeared unconvinced that the measures would significantly disrupt crude supplies. Oil prices fell more than $2 per barrel as traders took profits and largely shrugged off the announcement, reflecting scepticism that the latest sanctions push will materially curtail Iranian exports unless the US moves directly against major buyers and financiers.

For the maritime sector, however, the message was clear: shipping has been elevated to one of five strategic sectors at the centre of Washington’s sanctions campaign, increasing the compliance risks for shipowners, brokers, bunker suppliers and service providers involved, directly or indirectly, in Iranian trade.