Article content(Bloomberg) — The Trump administration launched its “Economic Fury” campaign to hobble Iran’s economy with sanctions more than a month ago. So far, the country is unbowed.
Sign In or Create an AccountEmail AddressContinueor View more offersArticle contentTreasury Secretary Scott Bessent exhorted allies earlier this week to join the US in its economic pressure campaign, which the administration rolled out shortly after it entered into a ceasefire that halted its military campaign against Iran, dubbed “Epic Fury.”
Article contentWe apologize, but this video has failed to load.Try refreshing your browser, or tap here to see other videos from our team.Article contentThe new campaign appeared to be an update of “Maximum Pressure,” the tag line dating from Trump’s first term that described his approach of suffocating the Iranian economy. The new campaign that started April 16 promised to leverage “the full range of available tools and authorities” to choke off Iran.
Article contentArticle contentSo far, though, the actions largely resembled the previous strategy, and with the same effect: Iran has broadly held out against US demands despite facing a steadily growing arsenal of sanctions dating back to 2018, when President Donald Trump backed out of a nuclear deal forged during the Obama era.
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Article contentThat’s brought the total number of sanctions against Iran imposed in the last eight years to nearly 2,000, according to Jeremy Paner, a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, who tracks designations on Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors.
Article content“There really hasn’t been any significant shift in the targeting priorities,” Paner said. “The authorities are the same. The geographies being targeted are the same.”
Article contentThe US effort has targeted everything from oil companies and shipping firms to currency exchanges and intermediaries across China and the Middle East.
Article contentBut all of those measures — even with an extensive bombing campaign alongside Israel and an ongoing US Navy blockade — have only underscored Iran’s ability to weather US pressure, especially given continued oil sales to China.
Article contentArticle contentThe administration’s challenge with Iran is one that’s bedeviled successive administrations: squeezing Iran’s economy enough to force change while avoiding excessive harm to the global economy and American consumers’ pocketbooks.
Article content“We’ve just reached the limit of what we can achieve with sanctions and economic pressure,” said Richard Nephew, a former State Department official who served as the deputy envoy for Iran and a coordinator for sanctions policy. “We need to either overwhelm them with something new — and this Economic Fury stuff isn’t it — or we need to start limiting our ambitions.”
Article contentA Treasury spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Article contentThere’s also the matter of timing.
Article contentTrump wants a quick end to a war that has closed the vital Strait of Hormuz and caused global energy prices to soar. On Saturday, Iran said talks on a peace deal was progressing with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also signaling a resolution was in sight.
Article contentIran’s battered leadership has been hunkered down over what they see as an existential crisis. It doesn’t help that any deal with the US would likely involve loosening the sanctions that Treasury continues to slap onto the regime.
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