Bessent threatens Iran with unprecedented economic isolation

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has threatened to subject Iran to economic isolation "like the world has never seen before". The remarks were made on the programme Rob Schmitt Tonight on the conservative broadcaster Newsmax.

Bessent announced new measures starting next week and described a two-track approach: financial pressure on one side, physical blockade of ports on the other. "The continuous blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will prevent anything from entering or leaving Iranian ports," he said, urging viewers to await further announcements.

The combination of the two instruments is what sets this phase apart from earlier ones. Financial sanctions against Tehran have existed for decades and are circumvented through intermediaries and untracked fleets. A naval blockade of the strait, by contrast, acts on the physical passage of ships and makes alternative routes less effective.

Hormuz is the passage through which a significant share of the world's seaborne oil travels. A prolonged blockade therefore hits not only the Iranian economy but energy prices in every market, Europe included.

Vice-President JD Vance had spoken to this point earlier. He identified the United States' top priority in the war against Iran as bringing down oil and petrol prices for Americans. Preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon came, in his words, second.

The ordering of priorities set out by Vance is politically significant. It moves the justification for the conflict from non-proliferation to the domestic cost of living, and ties the duration of operations to an indicator American voters check every week at the pump.