&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "US says tougher Iran sanctions make large-scale war less likely; Tehran condemns 'economic terrorism'")
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday (August 20) said Washington's plan to intensify economic sanctions on Iran could reduce the need for another large-scale military operation against Tehran.
"If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart, but I will emphasise that is for now," Bessent was quoted as saying by CNBC.
Bessent said the US wants to sharply increase economic pressure on Iran with the aim of collapsing its government. He described the planned sanctions as an unprecedented campaign of economic isolation.
"It is going to work in Iran, and we are going to collapse this regime," he told CNBC. "This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world."
US urges China and allies to back sanctions
Bessent also addressed the possibility of Washington putting pressure on China over its dealings with Iran. He said "many conversations are best to have in private," while urging Beijing "to get with the program." The Treasury Secretary also called on other countries to support the US measures and warned them about the consequences of failing to do so.
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"So it is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision, and we are going to squash the economy of this murderous regime, which, that will curtail their ability to project power through their proxies," he said.
Washington has imposed a series of new economic sanctions since US President Donald Trump launched the war with Tehran in late February. However, the Iranian government has continued to operate despite the measures.
Iran rejects US sanctions as 'economic terrorism'
Iran's Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the latest US sanctions and described them as a crime against humanity. According to ISNA, Tehran said the measures reflected decades of US hostility towards the Iranian people.
"The US administration, on the anniversary of the shameful coup of 19 Mordad 1953, claimed to impose extensive economic and trade sanctions against the Iranian nation. This action is not only another sign of the continuation of 73 years of American policymakers' animosity and hostility towards the Iranian people, but also proves the anti-human, law-breaking, and arrogant nature of the US administration.
"Without a doubt, the US economic sanctions against Iran, which have targeted the fundamental human rights of every Iranian citizen, are an example of "economic terrorism" and a "crime against humanity," and the instigators and perpetrators of these sanctions deserve to be tried and punished for committing such heinous crimes," the semi-official news agency quoted Tehran's foreign ministry as saying.
The Iranian ministry also described the sanctions as inhumane measures against the Iranian people. It said the Islamic Republic remains determined to defend its security and national interests while confronting US military, economic, political and psychological pressure.
