In an X posting on Saturday night, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was giddy at the prospects of not only crushing Iran, but also any country that defies the criminal US policy of economic strangulation. “Following the launch of Operation Economic Outcast, @USTreasury imposed targeted financial measures against banks and aviation service providers,” Bessent wrote. “At my direction, teams were dispatched across the globe to engage with countries and demand action against the Iranian regime.

“These efforts are delivering results. Türkiye and Oman announced the cessation of Mahan Air flights to their countries. The UAE has halted all flights by Iranian airlines, and top commercial banks in the UAE and Türkiye have stopped transacting with Iran. Even Iran’s leadership has acknowledged the economic toll of the war, as the value of the rial has fallen to record lows.”

The envoys Bessent was referring to include Jonathan Burke, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing, who is a former managing director at Citi in London. The Sept. 25 Wall Street Journal ran an article reporting that Burke “hopscotched across the Middle East and Europe this month with a warning to Iran’s trading partners: You either trade with Tehran or Washington. The commercial strongarming is working,” the Journal claimed.