Trump threatens "Economic D-Day" sanctions on Iran as Tehran and Beijing push back and Strait of Hormuz traffic remains well below pre-war levels
President Trump announced plans for a new round of economic sanctions against Iran, threatening "tremendous economic consequences" on any country that continues to do business with Tehran, in a move he described as an "Economic D-Day." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would outline the measures at a Monday news conference, promising actions that have "never been seen" before. The announcement came as a 60-day window for peace talks expired without resolution and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at roughly 20% of pre-war levels, according to a CNN analysis of UK Maritime Trade Operations data.
The Trump administration escalated its economic pressure campaign against Iran this week, with the president posting on social media that the U.S. would pursue "the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION" against Tehran. Speaking at a campaign rally in South Carolina on Friday, Trump described the ongoing war with Iran as "a little detour," and said gas prices would soon come down — even as the national average reached $4.11 per gallon, up $0.97 from a year ago, according to CNN.
Iran's response was defiant on multiple fronts. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in remarks reported by state media IRNA that "the entire world approved our victory and the U.S. is hated," framing Tehran's continued control over the Strait of Hormuz and its refusal to yield to U.S. demands as a strategic win. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran was prepared to "sacrifice our wealth" to defend the country's "dignity and honor," and urged the country to plan for "unjust sanctions so that we can overcome them," according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei called Trump's threat "a recipe for an abysmal return to full-scale classic colonialism" and described proposed sanctions as an "assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent Member State of the United Nations."
China, a major trading partner and key economic lifeline for Iran, also pushed back. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a Friday briefing that "sanctions and pressure tactics are not the solution," and urged parties to seek a political settlement through dialogue. Treasury Secretary Bessent had earlier urged Beijing to "get with the program," underscoring how central China's role is to the effectiveness of any new sanctions regime.