Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his first move against Iran since the launch of “Operation Economic Outcast” last week, announced yesterday a proposal to revoke the access of the Dubai branch of the Egyptian bank Banque Misr to correspondent banking relations with U.S. financial institutions. He called Banque Misr UAE “a critical node for the Iranian regime’s access to U.S. dollars.” The Treasury, he added, “estimates that between January 2024 and June 2026, Banque Misr UAE processed approximately $1.8 billion for 103 companies that are potentially part of Iranian shadow banking networks.” He also announced sanctions against the Dubai branch of the Iranian Bank Melli, its general manager, and a Hong Kong-based trading company, all for supposedly laundering money on Iran’s behalf.
But China is not mentioned in the Treasury statement, even though China is Iran’s largest trading partner, accounting for about one-third of its trade. The “limited nature of the move shows how Washington is reluctant to hit bigger targets around the world that help finance the Iranian regime, including major banks and state-backed entities in China, amid fears that this could further destabilise the global economy and markets,” the Financial Times said in a report posted after Bessent’s announcement.
“The move highlights America’s ability to use the global dominance of the US dollar to exert financial pressure. But the targeting of an Egyptian bank’s Emirati offices stops well short of the ‘Economic D-Day’ threatened by Bessent, which experts said would have to strike major Chinese financial institutions to have real impact,” the FT explained. “Chinese purchases of Iranian oil, via an elaborate shadow fleet and money-laundering network, account for ‘about 45 per cent of Iran’s total government budget,’ according to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a body set up by Congress.
