The Trump administration is pressing governments and companies to curb economic ties with Iran or risk being cut off from the U.S. financial system, according to the source document. It quotes Treasury official Jonathan Burke telling counterparts, “You either trade with Washington, or with Iran.”
What officials said
The source says Burke, identified as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing, met officials in more than 50 countries across Europe and the Middle East over two weeks, beginning in Oman. The effort relies on secondary sanctions that would target non‑U.S. banks and firms still facilitating Iranian trade, the source reports.
The campaign is described in the source as “Operation Economic Outcast,” launched in August. At the rollout, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is quoted as saying the goal was to “sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.” Burke is also quoted saying partners showed “a new urgency.”
Airlines and routes named
Following a Sept. 8 U.S. sanctions package that the source says targeted all remaining active Iranian airlines and foreign supporters, several governments restricted flights linked to Iran, according to the source. Reported steps include: the United Arab Emirates suspending Iranian airline flights; Oman and Turkey blocking incoming flights by Mahan Air, a privately owned carrier long under U.S. sanctions; and Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Georgia restricting Iranian flights.
Banks and finance flagged
The source cites financial moves it attributes to the sanctions push: the UAE central bank blocking local branches of Iran’s state‑owned Bank Melli from processing Iran‑related transactions; Turkey revoking the operating license of Iran’s Bank Mellat; and U.S. authorities restricting American correspondent banking access for Banque Misr UAE, alleging processing of billions tied to the Iranian government.
The source also reports that on Sept. 17 U.S. authorities sanctioned an Iranian digital‑asset exchange and several people accused of helping Tehran bypass conventional banking. Bessent is quoted saying, “Whether they finance terror, launder money, or help Iran evade sanctions, we will find them, cut them off from the U.S. financial system, and dismantle the networks keeping the regime afloat.”
Tehran’s response and what remains open
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is quoted acknowledging economic pain but rejecting capitulation: “We will die, but we will not bow our heads,” according to the source.
Isolation is incomplete, the source notes. Iranian airlines reportedly still fly to China—which the source says rejects unilateral U.S. sanctions—and maintain links with Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Malaysia. The source describes China as Iran’s most important remaining partner through oil purchases and non‑Western finance.
How the lever works
Per the source, the warning rests on secondary sanctions: U.S. measures that can penalize foreign banks and companies, even when transactions do not involve U.S. persons, if those activities are deemed to support sanctioned Iranian sectors.
Kingdom Watch News is publishing these details as attributed claims from the provided source and has not independently verified the identities, titles, or specific enforcement actions described.
