Middle East — 2026-09-01

Treasury Secretary Bessent Announces Weekly Secondary Sanctions Campaign Against Iran at G20

BLUFTreasury very likely will designate at least one more bank tied to Iran trade by September 8, though target selection so far signals calibrated pressure short of provoking Beijing or New Delhi.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Associated Press on Sunday that the administration plans to sanction another bank this week as part of its economic pressure campaign against Iran, declining to name the target and warning of "financial violence if we have to" 12. Bessent spoke ahead of a G20 finance ministers meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, where he said he would meet individually with counterparts and raise "all options" for sanctioning Chinese entities over continued Iran trade 23. In remarks to reporters at the summit on Monday, Bessent said the European Commission delivered a statement backing US economic pressure on Iran, while a Treasury readout noted several countries raised risks to the global economy 4. Treasury's initial action under the campaign, dubbed "Operation Economic Outcast," was a Friday proposed rule to sever the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt's second-largest bank, from the US financial system 23.

Analysis
Banks and trading partners handling Iran-linked transactions very likely face at least one more named Treasury action by September 8, as Bessent signaled the weekly-sanctions cadence will continue through the G20 window. The initial move against Banque Misr's Emirati branches, short of full sanctions on a major economy, signals Treasury is calibrating pressure below the threshold that would strain relations with China or India ahead of expected diplomatic engagement. Low confidence reflects a single executed action under the campaign and no publicly confirmed successor target.

4 sources

US plans to sanction another bank to keep economic pressure on Iran - Al Jazeera
US plans to sanction another bank in effort to clamp down on Iran transactions - Associated Press (via ABC News)
U.S. plans to sanction another bank in effort to clamp down on Iran transactions: Bessent - CNBC
Bessent seeks to rally G20 on severing Iran financial ties - The National