US Announces New Sanctions Campaign Targeting Iran’s Economic Lifelines

Comparing an illegal unilateral sanctions campaign with no basis in international law and no authorization from the UN Security Council to the allied landing in Normandy, one of the defining battles of the anti-fascist war, is an absurd analogy. Forcing a stalled military conflict into the arena of economic confrontation only underscores how few cards the US has left to play. On Monday local time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new round of sanctions against Iran under a plan dubbed "operation economic outcast." What is particularly bizarre is the name he gave the campaign: "economic D-Day." Comparing an illegal unilateral sanctions campaign with no basis in international law and no authorization from the UN Security Council to the allied landing in Normandy, one of the defining battles of the anti-fascist war, is an absurd analogy. The substance of the campaign is to extend sanctions to the countries that do business with Iran, effectively seeking to "sever every economic lifeline" available to Tehran. International opinion generally sees this more as a US "remedial measure" after military means failed to deliver results. Bloomberg economics analysts described that it left "major questions outstanding." Forcing a stalled military conflict into the arena of economic confrontation only underscores how few cards the US has left to play. The US has steadily tightened sanctions on Iran since 1979, yet has never managed to force Tehran to submit. Now Washington is serving up the same old recipe with a familiar taste, merely under the new label of an "operation economic outcast" campaign. Although Iran's average daily oil exports have plunged from around 2 million barrels before the war to approximately 287,000 barrels in August, Tehran still holds the key strategic leverage of the Strait of Hormuz and has accumulated extensive experience in coping with sanctions for a long time. If nearly 50 years of sanctions failed to achieve the goal, can simply giving them a "D-Day" label finally make them work? Through secondary sanctions, the US is not merely deciding "who it will do business with," but attempting to dictate to other countries around the world "who they can do business with." In doing so, Washington is opening multiple fronts at once: waging an economic war against Iran while simultaneously fighting sanctions battles with China, India, Turkey and even its European allies. Bessent has even threatened that countries that fail to cooperate could be excluded from the dollar system. It is a blatant weaponization of the dollar, turning the global financial system into a tool of unilateral punishment. When one country can arbitrarily cut off another country's economic lifelines at will, the foundations of the international economic and trade system are undermined, ultimately eroding confidence in the dollar's global credibility. Economic sanctions often trigger unintended chain reactions. The international oil prices have risen by over 50 percent so far this year. Further tightening restrictions on Iran's oil exports would only push oil prices higher and intensify inflationary pressures, casting an even darker shadow over an already fragile global economic recovery. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, and any disruption there could trigger sharp volatility in global energy markets. When economic measures are used as instruments of war, the risks won't remain within the boundaries envisioned by the US. They will spread and spill over, ultimately leaving everyone to foot the bill. The most urgent task now is not to escalate confrontation, but to de-escalate the situation. Dialogue and negotiations are the only right path toward resolving the US-Iran War and the Iranian nuclear issue, and this is a broad consensus in the international community. Unilateral sanctions and threats of force will not help resolve the problem; instead, they will exacerbate tensions and narrow the space for diplomacy. The US should seriously reflect on the gains and losses of its policy toward Iran, rather than blindly pressing ahead down a path that has already been proven to be a dead end. The so-called "operation economic outcast" is itself a reflection of the predicament facing US policy. Even Washington may have little confidence in how effective the new sanctions will be. More importantly, today's world is no longer one in which a single country can unilaterally determine the fate of other countries. Global multipolarity is an irreversible historical trend, and countries making independent choices based on their own national interests is simply a basic fact of international relations. It should be noted that some US media outlets have deliberately sought to turn attention toward China, attempting to create a narrative that the success or failure of the campaign depends on whether China cooperates. The possibility that Washington could use the regional conflict to exert additional economic pressure on China warrants vigilance. China's cooperation with Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be disrupted or undermined. China is not a party to US military actions against Iran or the Iranian nuclear issue, and should certainly not be held responsible for the failure of US policy. Some people in the US should focus on how to build "a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability," rather than constantly seeking to create turmoil in bilateral relations. In May this year, China's Ministry of Commerce, for the first time, issued a blocking ban under the rules on countering foreign states' unlawful extraterritorial jurisdiction measures, explicitly prohibiting any recognition, enforcement or compliance with US sanctions imposed on five Chinese companies on the grounds of their alleged involvement in Iranian petroleum transactions.