Bessent says U.S. likely to announce Iran bank sanctions this week

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott ​Bessent said on Tuesday the ‌United States is ​likely to announce sanctions on a bank this week as part of its economic campaign against Iran.

"We are probably going to ‌announce a bank sanction this week, and we will announce one the week after. We are speaking to our allies here, who have all come forward, and we have had a great show ‌of support," Bessent said. Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the U.S.-hosted Group of ‌20 finance leaders in Asheville, North Carolina, the treasury secretary said the U.S. was also looking at targeting airline leasing companies and other entities that did business with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

"It could be entities. It could be ⁠it ​could be airline leasing companies, ⁠which we'll be looking at. It could be anyone who does business with the IRGC. We are tracking down ⁠the IRGC's assets," Bessent said. "We have zero tolerance. We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime."

Bessent told Reuters ​on Sunday the U.S. Treasury was likely to unveil weekly new secondary sanctions aimed at ⁠increasing economic pressure on Iran, with an initial focus on banks. He said the next step may be cutting off ⁠an ​institution entirely from the dollar-based financial system.

In a message directed at the IRGC, Bessent said on Tuesday: "We know where in the British Virgin Islands your accounts are at these ⁠trust companies. We know the 100 million dollar houses you have around the world, and we are ⁠going to freeze ⁠those." Bessent said the United States has privately discussed with China how to stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon and ensuring freedom of navigation in ‌the Strait of ‌Hormuz.