US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday evening called for the closure of all Bank Melli Iran branches, said Washington will block any entity that funded the IRGC, and warned that countries continuing economic ties with Tehran will themselves be isolated. He also urged Iran’s armed forces to lay down their arms and overthrow the regime, warning China and Russia: “Don’t ask anyone to test our patience.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday evening escalated his demands toward Iran, calling for the closure of all Bank Melli Iran branches worldwide and urging Iran's armed forces to lay down their arms and overthrow the regime. Speaking after the Iranian rial crashed past the 2 million-per-dollar mark earlier in the day — as The Zioneer reported at 15:57 — Bessent warned that countries maintaining economic ties with Tehran will themselves be isolated. He singled out China and Russia, saying: 'Don't ask anyone to test our patience.' The statement represents the sharpest rhetoric yet from the Trump administration, with Bessent directly framing regime change as the path to ending isolation.
This evening's escalation builds on a rapid sequence of developments earlier Monday. At 20:18 Jerusalem, Bessent announced the launch of 'Operation Economic Outcast,' a comprehensive campaign to sever Iran's global financial ties under a 'zero loopholes' policy (versions 1–3 of the thread). In successive statements at the same hour, Treasury expanded secondary sanctions on entities and countries trading with Iran, and Bessent declared the US is no longer managing the Iranian threat but 'ending' it — vowing to choke all revenue to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also called on world leaders to choose between the United States and Iran (version 2). The new ultimatum to close Bank Melli and call for regime overthrow significantly extends the operation's scope.
The broader context is one of severe economic distress inside Iran. As The Zioneer reported at 15:57 Jerusalem, the rial's freefall past 2 million per dollar extends a record low driven by the American naval blockade and intensified sanctions. Background from The Zioneer's archive shows that on June 19, Iran threatened indefinite closure of the Strait of Hormuz and blocked IAEA inspections. Bessent himself has previously attributed Iran's willingness to negotiate to the credible threat of force, as The Zioneer reported on August 4.
What remains unclear is whether any residual diplomatic channels remain open. Bessent's language on Monday evening frames the choice as capitulation versus isolation, suggesting the administration views further negotiation as redundant. Whether Tehran responds to the ultimatum or doubles down on resistance — and whether China or Russia test the stated limits — remains to be seen.
6 developments
- StrongUS Treasury sanctions additional senior IRGC officials at Trump's directive
- StrongUS Treasury proposes cutting Egyptian bank's UAE branch from US financial system over Iran links
- StrongUS Treasury sanctions two major crypto exchanges over IRGC-linked financing
- DevelopingUS freezes $130M in IRGC-linked crypto wallets, expands hunt to Khamenei's global assets
Source and signal
- Open-source intake