Remarks from Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Operation Economic Outcast against Iran (Full Speech)

24 August 2026 As prepared for delivery.

Good afternoon.

Today, at President Trump s direction, the United States Treasury has begun Operation Economic Outcast an unprecedented campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers.

In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries.

Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran s financial connections around the globe.

Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.

Iran s fanatics devote themselves to Death to America and seek nuclear weapons to do just that.

They have murdered and maimed more of our citizens and service members than any other terrorist regime on Earth.

And they have been at war against America, their neighbours in the Gulf, and much of the world for 47 years.

President Trump has taken action that his predecessors have long deferred.

And under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat.

We are ending it.

Our great armed forces have laid the groundwork for achieving the President s objective of preventing Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons.

They have shown America s resolve to finally end this threat.

And the strength of America s economy under President Trump allows us to wage this sustained financial operation alongside the might of our military.

Iran now faces a very clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path back to normalcy, with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy.

Today, we are launching Operation Economic Outcast to foreclose every other option available to the Iranian regime.

Treasury has mapped every node, every facilitator, and every network that Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions.

Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC and the Iranian regime.

We are enforcing a zero-leakage approach.

There will be no minimal breathing space for the regime to rebuild its capacity to inflict terror against America and the world.

The final refuge of this regime is in the mistaken conclusion of nations that still finance the Iranian threat in the hopes of evading it.

It is no longer acceptable to operate in the grey spaces of this conflict.

Countries cannot claim that they are blind to enabling this activity.

Iran s enablers purchase and transport its petroleum.

They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones.

They welcome Iran s flights and maintain registries on its behalf.

They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and to overland transits.

And they condone the illicit use of their banks, all while concealing the extent of their complicity.

The President is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime.

We are already seeing results.

Over the weekend, comments from Iranian leadership clearly acknowledge the effect of this campaign.

And nations that facilitate any interactions with the regime should quickly heed our message.

Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership.

Those who tether themselves to Tehran should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.

Teams from the Treasury, State Department, and the US military are now meeting with their global counterparts to tell them that the United States expects action.