US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has issued a stark warning to countries “enabling” Iran financially, noting that there will be a “zero-leakage approach” and that his department has mapped every avenue Tehran uses to evade sanctions and sell oil.

“Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC and the evil Iranian regime,” he says in a speech.

Bessent says it is “no longer acceptable” to turn a blind eye to Iran’s activities.

“Iran’s enablers purchase and transport its petroleum; they facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free-trade zones; they welcome Iran’s flights and maintain registries on its behalf; they turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and overland transits; they condone illicit use of their banks, all the while concealing the extent of their complicity,” he states.

“The president is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime,” Bessent adds, noting that nations facilitating interactions with Tehran “should quickly heed our message: those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership; those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime”.