US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that Washington is approaching the “endgame" in its confrontation with Iran, following what he described as the destruction of much of Tehran's military capabilities.
“President Trump has dismantled Iran’s military capabilities, destroyed nearly 100 percent of its military factories, and buried its nuclear program," Bessent wrote on social media.
“We are now entering the endgame. At dawn begins an economic D-Day - the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary," he added.
Bessent argued that the Trump administration had fundamentally changed the balance of pressure between Washington and Tehran.
“The Islamic Republic has subsisted by dressing extortion as security guarantees. It has drawn strength from a calculus that regards Iranian retaliation as certain and American enforcement as negotiable. Under President Trump, that era is over. And those who fear the danger of defying Tehran ought not to discount the cost of testing Washington," warned Bessent.
He said Trump had also laid the groundwork for an expansive campaign targeting Iran's remaining economic lifelines.
The Treasury Secretary further stated that Trump “has created the conditions to leverage every agency, every authority and action many assumed we would never summon. Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone."
Bessent's announcement followed Trump's declaration Wednesday of a sweeping new economic campaign against Iran. In a Truth Social post, the president described the effort as "an economic D-Day" and warned countries providing economic assistance to Tehran that they would face consequences.
"These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide. IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON," he wrote.
Bessent had previewed the coming measures the previous week, saying Washington was preparing economic actions against Iran on an unprecedented scale.
"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," Bessent told Newsmax.
"It will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports," he added.