<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump announced plans to inflict what he called \u201can ECONOMIC D-DAY\u201d against Iran, underscoring his rising frustration with the country\u2019s refusal to capitulate despite weeks of military strikes and a US blockade that\u2019s crimped its oil exports.<\/p>\n
Trump didn\u2019t specify what measures he would take but his threat to target Iran\u2019s trading partners, none of which he cited by name, put an immediate focus on China, which buys the bulk of Iran\u2019s oil.<\/p>\n
In a social media post, Trump warned that \u201cANY 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.\u201d He also sought to rally other countries that have so far declined to support his military campaign against Iran, saying the US needs \u201call of our Allies\u201d to help \u201cisolate, and defeat, the Iran threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran on August 10. Image: Ali Saeedi\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s sentiment followed on the heels of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent\u2019s warning that the US was prepared to unleash fresh economic measures. It signalled how the US, beset by munitions shortages, rising costs and an over-extended military, wants to shift away from a military campaign that has so far failed to bring about Iran\u2019s surrender despite eliminating most of the country\u2019s top leaders and devastating its armed forces.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear what new economic punishment the US could impose, if any, that Iran hasn\u2019t already endured. Targeting Iranian oil sales would also risk fresh confrontation with China, the buyer of almost all Iranian oil exports. That would complicate Trump\u2019s bid to extend a tariff truce with President Xi Jinping, whom he\u2019s planning to welcome to the US next month.<\/p>\n
ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the big red line that Trump is drawing in this post,\u201d Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, wrote on X. \u201cIt\u2019s addressed to one country, and one country alone: China. China, far and away is Iran\u2019s economic lifeline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump got a boost in his campaign a day ago, when the United Arab Emirates severed economic ties with Iran, citing \u201cescalations that undermine regional and international peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sea V (in white) U-turned as it was leaving the Persian Gulf, while the Hestia (blue) and Erecter have also turned around as they were entering the gulf.<\/p>\n
The UAE has been Iran\u2019s top trade partner in recent years, with Tehran relying on the relationship for access to foreign goods and hard currency. At the same time, Iran has weathered economic sanctions for decades, and survived the \u201cMaximum Pressure\u201d campaign that Trump brought to bear in his first term after he abandoned an Obama-era deal that put limits on Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s goal is to force Iran into fresh negotiations meant to end the war for good, force Tehran to give up its nuclear program and release its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, along the lines of a memorandum of understanding that the two sides signed in June but that later collapsed amid a flurry of tit-for-tat strikes.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s response so far to threats has been to make its own economic demands, such as funds for damage inflicted during the war and potential fees for access to the strait. Oil held four days of gains, with West Texas Intermediate for October trading above $84 a barrel, while Brent closed near $92.<\/p>\n
ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n
CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n
Resolving the conflict is increasingly urgent for Trump as he contends with high gas prices, the war\u2019s growing unpopularity and Republican concerns about losing one or both houses of Congress in November\u2019s midterm elections. Earlier this week, he even threatened to bomb Oman, a US ally that has sometimes played the role of mediator, if it gets in the US\u2019s way.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s threats against commercial shipping have stifled traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and a counter-blockade ordered by Trump has severely limited Iran\u2019s own ability to export oil.<\/p>\n
The US blockade, damage from the US-Israeli bombing campaign and internal corruption in Iran have spurred nearly 80% inflation and a currency that\u2019s lost almost 30% of its value this year. Economists have warned that the conflict may drag it into one of the worst economic crises in the history of the nation of 90 million people.<\/p>\n
Trump listed examples of aid to Iran that its economic partners should cease, including exchange houses, cash transfers and swap lines, ship registries, front companies and oil smuggling.<\/p>\n
The president had earlier shown his impatience with his decision to curtail military drills with South Korea, which he said had been insufficiently supportive of his campaign against Iran.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Trump #starting #economic #warfare #operation #Iran<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Donald Trump announced plans to inflict what he called \u201can ECONOMIC D-DAY\u201d against Iran,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[1343,376,1061,156,721,10102],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14064"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14064\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}