US Treasury chief demands allies join Iran economic isolation campaign

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on allies to join a sweeping economic pressure campaign aimed at collapsing the Iranian regime.

He also urged China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, to align with Washington's sanctions against Tehran — while signaling that a large-scale military escalation against Iran is unlikely for now.

Speaking to CNBC on Wednesday (local time), Bessent said he would hold a press conference Monday to unveil the details of the economic pressure plan, adding that the campaign was designed to bring down the Iranian regime.

Bessent described the approach as a "one-two punch," saying the United States is imposing a maritime blockade on Iran and pursuing "the most powerful sanctions in history."

"It will be the most powerfully coordinated economic isolation operation in world history," he said, adding that he would tell allies they face a binary choice: "You're either with us or you're going to be against us."

"It's time for our allies and the world to make a decision," he said.

The remarks amounted to an ultimatum — demanding that partner nations choose between cooperating with the US-led economic pressure campaign or standing against it.

On China, which purchases more than 80 percent of Iranian oil, Bessent said, "I'm sure everyone wants the Strait of Hormuz open and energy prices to come down. China gets 50 percent of its energy from the Gulf region," urging Beijing to fall in line with US sanctions on Iran.

Bessent said the scale of the economic sanctions made a large-scale military escalation against Iran less likely, while leaving open the possibility that circumstances could change.

He argued that maximum-pressure economic sanctions signal a reduced likelihood of renewed large-scale escalation, and said markets had misread the situation, pushing oil prices higher as a result.

However, he added, "I would emphasize that is the case for now."

The caveat suggested that while Washington is focused on economic pressure at present, military action could resume depending on how events unfold — a pointed warning to Tehran.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced an unprecedented "economic isolation" campaign against Iran and called on third countries to cooperate.

The strategy involves imposing economic penalties on countries that continue doing business with Iran, broadly cutting off Tehran's financial lifelines — a move widely seen as an effort to deepen Iran's economic hardship and extract concessions on the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program.