Hijab is still compulsory in Iran.
A seven-year-old girl is still forced by law to cover her hair to enter school, or she can be denied education. Women can still lose their jobs. Businesses are still being shut down for refusing to enforce hijab.
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Washington will impose the “toughest sanctions in history” to “collapse” the Iranian government, calling on other nations, including China, to join the effort.
- China has criticised the US president’s “economic D-Day” push against Iran, warning that additional sanctions will fail to resolve ongoing disputes.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the US threat of new economic sanctions, describing the proposed measures as “illegal and inhumane”.
- US Central Command says its forces have redirected 67 merchant ships, disabled three, and boarded two others travelling to or from Iranian ports while enforcing a revived naval blockade.
Bessent: Aim Is To ‘Collapse’ Iran Regime Through Economic Warfare, But US Unlikely To Restart Major Combat
“You are either with us or against us.”
- US shifts toward economic warfare, away from military strikes: Bessent says maximum sanctions likely mean no major new military campaign for now.
- Regime change rhetoric persists: Bessent says Washington intends to “collapse” Iran’s regime.
- USS George Washington arrives: A new US carrier is now operating in the Middle East, relieving the over-extended USS Lincoln.
- Iran rejects US threats as a Trump “diversion”: Tehran calls the campaign “economic terrorism” and says Washington is seeking an exit.
- Axios claim of ‘stealth corridor’ where oil is moving steadily through Hormuz results in skepticism & some pushback.
Bessent: Going to ‘Collapse this Regime’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a CNBC appearance seemed to give additional confirmation that further Pentagon operations targeting Iran are unlikely to happen down the line. He also furthered Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’ plan and threat.
“If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” Bessent said in a “Squawk on the Street” interview.
He previewed a press conference which the administration plans to give Monday to “talk about exactly what we’re going to do.” Apparently the White House is keen on resurrecting Bush-Cheney era talking points in the effort to push global countries to comply with a full economic siege and strangulation of the Islamic Republic. According to CNBC:
In a preview of the plan, he said that the U.S. will be telling all of its allies, “You are either with us or against us.”
“If you insist on doing business with [Iran], either transferring money, buying their oil or doing seaborne ship transfers, then the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. government … will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you,” Bessent said.
“This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world,” he said.
He also said in the interview at one point that “we are going to collapse this regime.” Of course, none of this is necessarily new in terms of talking points’…
Continue reading Iran calls ‘toughest-ever’ US sanctions ‘economic terrorism’
