The U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared on March 6, 2025, at the Economic Club of New York, the administration's intent to intensify sanctions against Iran as part of President Donald Trump’s renewed maximum pressure campaign. "Making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy," Bessent stated, highlighting the serious measures the U.S. aims to implement to cripple Iran’s oil economy.
The backdrop for Bessent's remarks centers around the crippling effects of sanctions already imposed on Iran. The Iranian rial has lost half of its value over the last six months, primarily due to international sanctions and regional setbacks. The renewed sanctions policy aims to exacerbate these effects, encouraging Iran to comply with U.S. demands.
The maximum pressure campaign, originally rolled out during Trump’s first administration, has seen strict reinforcements since he resumed office in January 2025. Bessent emphasized, "We aim to push Iran's economy off the cliff with more sanctions on Iranian oil," indicating the aggressive approach the administration is planning to take moving forward.
The U.S. has previously witnessed significant fluctuations in Iran's oil exports as sanctions have come and gone. Back in 2017, before the earlier sanctions took effect, Iran was exporting around 2.5 million barrels of oil per day. Fast forward to 2020, and those figures had plummeted to approximately 350,000 barrels per day. Following President Joe Biden's entry to office and subsequent wave of sanctions, Iranian oil exports rebounded to nearly 1.9 million barrels per day during the summer of 2024. Unfortunately, this was short-lived, as sanctions targeting numerous tankers involved in smuggling Iranian oil imposed by the Biden administration led to decreased exports by about 500,000 barrels per day by the last quarter of 2024.
Bessent’s statements are not limited to just sanctions against Iran. He also spoke about sanctions against Russia, declaring, "Sanctions on Russia will be used explicitly and aggressively for immediate maximum impact," emphasizing the administration's readiness to take necessary actions. President Trump aims for these sanctions to also help lead to a ceasefire amid the Ukraine war.
Besides sanctions, the U.S. administration is contemplating plans to inspect Iranian oil tankers, aligning such measures with international accords aimed at curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Besides committing to strict sanctions, they want allied countries to assist by stopping and inspecting vessels at key maritime chokepoints, including the Malacca Strait.
Iran's economic future now hinges significantly on how the United States applies these new pressures. President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, acknowledged the impact of Trump’s sanctions during his address to the Iranian parliament on March 2, 2025, expressing concerns about the fate of Iranian tankers faced with uncertainty every time they attempt to unload their cargo.
With each new round of sanctions, the precarious balance of power shifts, and Iran finds itself increasingly isolated from the global oil market. Bessent's statements reflect the administration's hard-line stance against Iran's economic independence. The new sanctions highlight the lengths to which the U.S. believes it must go to reshape Iran’s approach on the international stage.
Whether these renewed sanctions will lead to effective change or simply exacerbate the economic strain on the Iranian people remains to be seen. The Trump administration's unyielding approach will undoubtedly continue to draw scrutiny and could have far-reaching consequences on international relations.