Mark Dubowitz, chief executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and for two decades among the principal designers of the American-Israeli financial campaign against Iran, published an essay in Israel Hayom on Sept. 6 warning that the weapon he helped build could one day be aimed at Israel.

“For two decades, the United States built a formidable financial warfare machine designed to cripple Iran,” he writes. “Ironically, parts of that same machinery are now being assembled against Israel by some of Washington’s closest allies.”

The model, he explains, “operated like a steadily tightening noose. First, the legal infrastructure is established. Then it is internationalized. Sanctions are imposed on individuals, expanded to companies and entire sectors, and ultimately brought to bear on the financial system itself.”

And the effects can go beyond what is legally required: “Sanctions set the process in motion, but the real damage was inflicted by banks and investors who, fearful of incurring Washington’s wrath, went far beyond what US law actually required. Iran became commercially toxic.”

Dubowitz points to Executive Order 14115, signed by President Biden in February 2024, which declared a national emergency and authorized sanctions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. President Trump revoked it on returning to office, “but the precedent itself cannot be erased.” Within 72 hours of the original announcement, Israeli banks began restricting the listed accounts, Dubowitz recounts. Although Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich protested, the Bank of Israel refused to relent, warning that ignoring U.S. sanctions could cost Israeli banks access to the international financial system. He calls this “a vivid demonstration of the leverage Washington possesses, even inside Israel.”