U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The United States on Thursday (August 20, 2026) warned allies and China to join President Donald Trump’s new campaign to isolate the Iranian economy, vowing that Washington would “collapse this regime” in Tehran.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments underscored how Mr. Trump is shifting to economic rather than military pressure on Tehran as the war drags toward the six-month mark.
Iran branded the U.S. threats as “economic terrorism” and said they would fail.
Under fire at home over the impact of the war and with crucial midterm elections looming, Trump had on Wednesday (August 19, 2026) promised the “most crushing” economic operation ever against Iran.
“It is going to work in Iran and we are going to collapse this regime,” Mr. Bessent told U.S. broadcaster CNBC.
Neither Mr. Trump nor his treasury chief has set out the measures they are planning against Iran. Bessent said he would give more details during a press conference on Monday (August 24, 2026).
But Mr. Bessent underlined that Washington expects both allies and rivals to join in.
“This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world. And we are going to them and saying you are either with us or against us,” he added in a message to allies.
Asked whether the United States would pressure China, Mr. Bessent said that “many conversations are best to have in private” but called on Beijing “to get with the program.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit the White House on September 24.
‘Crimes against humanity’
Mr. Bessent’s comments marked a notable return by a senior U.S. official to talking about regime change in Iran, after months of Trump insisting that the goal of the war is to stop Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon.
But the U.S. treasury boss said the economic plan meant the United States is less likely to have to return to heavy military operations against Iran.
“If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart, but I will emphasise that is for now,” Mr. Bessent said.
Iran dismissed Trump’s plan
“The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry blasted the U.S. threats, which come after years of damaging American sanctions against Tehran.
“Undoubtedly, the U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, which have targeted the fundamental human rights of every Iranian citizen, are a case of ‘economic terrorism’ and ‘crimes against humanity’,” it said in a statement carried by state media.
Despite the heavy international sanctions, Iran found ways to continue exporting its oil, with China the biggest buyer. Tehran operates a so-called shadow fleet of tankers, all of which are under international sanctions.
Published – August 21, 2026 05:03 am IST
