Bessent Calls on G7 to Join U.S. Campaign Against Iran’s Finances
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged allied governments Tuesday to back Washington’s Iran sanctions campaign, CNBC reported, calling on partners to stop watching from the sidelines.
Bessent delivered the remarks at the “No Money for Terror” conference in Paris, held alongside a meeting of G7 finance ministers. He argued that the United States has too often shouldered the burden of countering Iranian-linked terrorism alone.
Bessent Outlines a New Iran Sanctions Framework
The Treasury Secretary used the Paris platform to introduce what he described as a more disciplined approach to Iran sanctions. Rather than letting designations accumulate indefinitely, Bessent said the administration is reviewing outdated measures so that financial institutions can focus resources on the most active and sophisticated evasion schemes.
He framed the revised model as “aggressive and targeted,” with time-bound objectives meant to produce specific outcomes. The broader effort carries the name “Operation Economic Fury,” an initiative Bessent credited with modernising the architecture underpinning U.S. economic statecraft against Tehran.
According to Bessent, American actions have already disrupted tens of billions of dollars in projected Iranian oil revenue and dismantled significant portions of the regime’s shadow banking networks.
Background: A War Dragging on the Global Economy
The Iran conflict, which drew in U.S. forces under the Trump administration, has unsettled global oil markets and strained supply chains for months. Despite early military escalation, the conflict has settled into what analysts widely describe as a grinding stalemate, with neither side able to force a decisive resolution.
President Donald Trump and senior cabinet officials have repeatedly pressed foreign governments to align more closely with Washington’s economic pressure campaign against Tehran. Those calls have met a cautious reception from some European capitals, which have historically favoured diplomatic channels over broad unilateral sanctions.
Bessent Asks Europe to Designate Iranian Financiers
Tuesday’s speech contained some of the most direct language yet aimed at European allies. Bessent specifically asked them to formally designate Iranian financiers, expose front companies, close Iranian-linked bank branches, and dismantle proxy networks operating on the continent.
He told the assembled delegations that expressing shared concern about Iran’s destabilising behaviour now requires concrete action, not declarations. The implied message was that continued hesitation would amount to tacit tolerance of the financing structures Washington is working to destroy.
The G7 finance ministers’ meeting in Paris serves as a preparatory session ahead of the broader G7 leaders’ summit scheduled for June in Evian, France, where Iran policy is expected to feature prominently on the agenda.
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