Trump announces ‘most crushing economic operation ever’ against Iran
The Hill · C · trust 37/100
Comments: by Filip Timotija and Sarah Davis - 08/19/26 8:02 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Filip Timotija and Sarah Davis - 08/19/26 8:02 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING President Trump announced Wednesday evening the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER” against Iran amid negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading waterway that has been effectively closed since early March.
“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” the president wrote on Truth Social .
Trump said any nation that works to “provide any type of lifeline to Iran” will be hit with “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences” from the U.S.
“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are,” the president wrote.
“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat,” Trump continued.
The president’s announcement follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s warning last week that the U.S. would seek to ramp up economic pressure on Tehran to reopen the critical waterway.
On Thursday, Bessent told Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight” that Trump ordered the department to “apply maximum pressure to the Iranian regime.”
“It will be a combination of economic isolation like ‌the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in ‌the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the ‌Iranian ports,” he told Newsmax.
Trump has telegraphed that he would unleash economic warfare against Iran by intensifying sanctions and continuing to enforce the U.S. naval blockade in the Arabian Sea, blocking vessels from departing Iranian ports.
Trump’s announcement came a day after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that the Gulf nation would cut off trade with Iran after Tehran’s forces fired two missiles at the country.
The president has also lashed out at Oman earlier this week, threatening to “ bomb the s— out of them ” if Muscat “gets in the way” amid talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Traffic in the waterway has gone up slightly, with 12 and 10 successful ship crossings on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler , but the figures are still far below prewar levels.
Trump also announced last week that he would declare the strait a U.S. territory. The president did not expand on how he would achieve this goal, which he signaled again this week, considering Oman’s and Iran’s shared jurisdiction over this waterway.
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