US President Donald Trump speaks with guests during an event announcing the expansion of a foster care initiative in the Rose Garden of the White House.
Day 175 | US pushes allies, China to back Trump's economic war on Iran
The United States on Thursday warned allies and China to join President Donald Trump's new campaign to isolate the Iranian economy, vowing that Washington would "collapse this regime" in Tehran.
Iran branded the US threats as "economic terrorism" and said they would fail.
Under fire at home over the impact of the war and with crucial midterm elections looming, Trump had on Wednesday promised the "most crushing" economic operation ever against Iran.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed the president's comments, doubling down on economic pressure on Tehran as Trump's unpopular war drags toward the six-month mark.
"Any remaining tie to Tehran will hasten a nation's economic oblivion, whether that tie be purposefully constructed or willfully ignored," Bessent said on X.
Neither Trump nor his treasury chief has set out the measures they are planning against Iran. Bessent said he would give more details during a press conference on Monday.
"We're kind of now in a new phase where the most effective tool that we have is the economic pressure that we can apply to them," Vice President JD Vance told a conservative podcast.
"This is a delicate dance because" Iran will "try to apply economic pressure to us."
Asked whether the United States would pressure China, Bessent told CNBC that "many conversations are best to have in private," but called on Beijing "to get with the program."
Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit the White House on September 24.
Iran is “completely broke” & Trump can pull other “levers”: WP
An anonymous Trump administration official, quoted by the Washington Post, said that Iran is “completely broke”, adding that there are “many levers the president can crank harder in the weeks and months ahead”.
The news comes after Trump announced a new campaign to isolate the Iranian economy, with the Treasury Secretary saying that Washington would "collapse this regime" in Tehran.
"Any remaining tie to Tehran will hasten a nation's economic oblivion, whether that tie be purposefully constructed or willfully ignored," Scott Bessent said on X.
Iran branded the US threats as "economic terrorism" and said they would fail.
"We're kind of now in a new phase where the most effective tool that we have is the economic pressure that we can apply to them," Vice President JD Vance also told a conservative podcast.
"This is a delicate dance because" Iran will "try to apply economic pressure to us."
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Read more: Day 174 | Iran warns Gulf countries against helping US after UAE cuts trade ties
