Trump vows ‘tremendous’ economic costs for countries that do business with Iran

US President Donald Trump announced a new campaign to pressure Iran’s economy and warned that any country that helps or does business with Tehran will face severe economic punishment.

‘Most crushing economic operation’

Trump wrote on Truth Social:

“Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,”

followed by another post saying:

“ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,”

according to reporting by AFP published by IOL.

Actions and targets named by Trump

Trump listed a series of activities he said must stop immediately, including “oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies.” The announcement did not specify the exact punishments countries would face, and no other countries were named by Trump in his posts.

US policy moves and wider campaign

The article notes the US Treasury has been carrying out an effort called Operation Economic Fury, described as aiming to cut off Iran’s funding with targeted sanctions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was quoted as saying the US would soon be ramping up economic isolation efforts, and that

“It will be a combination of economic isolation, like the world has never seen before,”

during remarks to Newsmax.

War context and the Strait of Hormuz

The reporting places the intensified economic campaign amid a war that, the article says, began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran and subsequent Iranian missile and drone strikes across the region. The piece says Tehran’s missile and drone threat has severely curtailed shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and that a framework US-Iran deal to reopen the strait collapsed.

The report adds that US forces were facilitating transit of ships through the strait, and that US-based digital outlet Axios said US forces were moving 15 to 20 ships in and out of the Hormuz each night carrying “roughly half the pre-war volume” of daily oil shipments.

Regional developments and diplomacy

The United Arab Emirates announced it had suspended all economic dealings with Iran after saying it had been targeted by two ballistic missiles. The article also says messages were being exchanged between the sides in recent days, but quotes Trump as saying talks were off and that he posted a message suggesting the strait could be a

“NEW U.S. Territory.”

What remains unclear from the report

The reporting does not specify the concrete measures or penalties that will be imposed on countries that Trump said would face consequences, nor does it name any specific countries besides Iran as targets of the policy. It also notes media reports of US munitions stockpile concerns that the Pentagon denied.