Washington is putting Iran’s trading partners squarely in the crosshairs of a widening sanctions campaign, threatening action against countries and entities that continue to do business with Tehran.
The pressure is designed to squeeze Iran’s access to revenue but its success may depend on whether countries such as China, India and Turkey, as well as Gulf states, are willing to sacrifice their economic interests to meet U.S. demands.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday threatened sanctions against any country that maintain commercial ties with Iran. Rather than imposing a single deadline, he said, Washington would give each trading partner a specific timetable for halting activities the U.S. considers supportive of Tehran before taking action.
Bessent said President Donald Trump was speaking with leaders around the world and asking them to end their dealings with Iran, adding that countries that fail to comply with U.S. demands could face action by the Treasury Department.
“Any type of economic engagement with Iran will expose those responsible to the full force of American power,” Bessent said, adding that “no one is beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions.”
The treasury secretary said the United States would act unilaterally against countries or entities that failed to comply by their designated deadlines, as part of a campaign to broaden the use of secondary sanctions against parties that deal with Iran.
Washington had a broad range of enforcement tools at its disposal, led by secondary sanctions, as well as tariffs and restrictions on access to the U.S. banking system, according to Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the RANE Network.
Those measures could be used against countries including China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and India, Bohl said. But applying them on a wide scale could impose economic costs on both the targeted countries and the United States itself.
The Treasury Department has announced other measures against sectors and entities linked to the Iranian economy, with a particular focus on Tehran’s sources of revenue and the financial channels it uses.
Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iranian-American financial economist, told MBN that intensifying pressure on Tehran would restrict its trade, particularly through China, Gulf states, Turkey, Iraq and Pakistan.
China in the Sanctions Crosshairs
China remains Iran’s largest trading partner, particularly in the oil sector. It imported about 1.38 million barrels of Iranian oil per day in 2025, accounting for more than 80 percent of Iran’s total oil exports, according to the commodities data firm Kpler.
Bessent said Chinese banks that conduct business with Iran were not “beyond the reach of U.S. sanctions.”
In April and May, Washington imposed sanctions on one of China’s largest independent oil refineries, an oil storage and transportation terminal, and about 40 Chinese vessels and shipping companies involved in transporting Iranian oil.
Ghasseminejad said China was a key part of Iran’s commercial network. The United States, he said, could target Chinese banks that help Iran transfer funds, as well as Chinese ports and companies that conduct business with Tehran.
China said that “sanctions and pressure tactics do not help resolve issues and will only lead to an escalation that serves no one’s interests.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian urged restraint and called on the parties to avoid measures that could harm global economic growth and financial stability. He said Beijing would take the necessary steps to protect its legitimate rights and interests.
Economic and Diplomatic Tools
Alex Zerden, founder of Capitol Peak Strategies, told MBN that the United States had “a range of economic and diplomatic tools at its disposal to persuade other countries and entities to comply with U.S. sanctions on Iran.”
The central question, he said, was “how much actual or political capital the United States is willing to expend,” noting that the nature of Washington’s relationship with each country would influence how it responded to U.S. demands.
The Treasury Department is focusing on the channels Iran uses to access the international financial system, including banks, intermediaries and companies that Washington says help Tehran transfer money and oil or circumvent sanctions.
Financial Channels
Bessent said U.S. measures could include closing overseas branches of Iranian banks and targeting institutions that help Tehran gain access to the international financial system. Foreign entities that assist Iran would also face sanctions, he said.
Max Meizlish, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Washington was using public diplomacy and private communications to press countries and entities to scale back their dealings with Iran.
Some sanctions-evasion operations rely on shell companies and opaque commercial channels, particularly in China and the United Arab Emirates, he said.
Washington wants the UAE to strengthen banking scrutiny to identify sanctions-evasion channels, Meizlish added, naming China’s Bank of Kunlun as one conduit for financial transfers between Iran and China that could be targeted by U.S. sanctions.
New Measures
As part of the new campaign, the U.S. Treasury Department announced measures targeting five sectors used by the Iranian government to support its economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
It also imposed sanctions on about 60 entities, individuals and vessels, expanding financial and economic pressure on Tehran.
Bessent said the Treasury Department had identified the networks, intermediaries and financial channels Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions. Washington, he said, would work with its partners to target revenue sources it considers illicit.
He also said the United States planned to sanction a major financial institution by the end of the week over activities linked to Iran.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
