ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday announced that the European Union has joined Operation Economic Outcast, Washington's new wide-ranging sanctions package against Iran, vowing the measures will not cease "until every remaining financial lifeline has been severed."
Initially announced in late August, the operation seeks to target Iranian financial connections around the globe, with an emphasis on secondary sanctions targeting countries and entities that facilitate Iranian oil exports and its shadow economy.
Bessent at the time said that US President Donald Trump spoke directly with several world leaders to compel them to end their economic dealings with the Islamic Republic, threatening to cut off nations that trade with Tehran from the US dollar system.
"The European Union has officially joined Operation Economic Outcast and we appreciate their strong and early stance," the Treasury Secretary wrote on X late Thursday. "The United States stands firm with our allies in ensuring the murderous Iranian regime cannot exploit the global financial system to fund its nuclear ambitions, weapons programs, and terror proxies."
"The world is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime: We will not stop until every remaining financial lifeline has been severed."
The EU has yet to formally announce its participation in the US initiative. However, a European Commission statement dated August 31 that Bessent attached to his post on X read, "The EU welcomes efforts at ensuring that Iran ceases its destabilizing activities and engages in peace negotiations with good faith, also through additional economic pressure, including through the US led Operation Economic Outcast."
"The EU has adopted extensive sanctions to prevent Iran from exploiting the global economy and financial system to sustain its hostile actions and undermine international security," the statement asserted. "It remains ready to take further measures, where necessary, to safeguard its security and interests, including freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz."
While having avoided direct military participation in the conflict, Brussels has repeatedly condemned Iranian restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran's heavy-handed response to anti-government protests.
In February, the bloc designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, ushering in new sanctions on the powerful Iranian entity and its affiliates, while in July, Brussels sanctioned five Iranian judges allegedly "responsible for serious human rights violations," including the issuing of death sentences to protestors and "targeting religious minorities and political dissidents."
Iran in turn designated the militaries of EU member states as terrorist organizations on the basis of reciprocity.
Mohsen Rezai, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in August said Tehran has warned regional countries they would be considered enemies if they join Washington in "the economic war."
The Iranian government has sought to play down the potential impacts of Operation Economic Outcast despite a crippled domestic economy and soaring inflation. In August, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that "the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries," adding that "Iran's trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don't take these statements into account."
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