The Trump administration will impose sanctions on another bank this week to increase financial pressure on Iran, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Sunday.
Speaking in an interview with the Associated Press, Bessent said the upcoming measures are designed to intensify constraints on Tehran and target foreign institutions that maintain financial relations with the country.
The disclosure comes ahead of the Group of 20 finance meetings in Asheville, North Carolina. On the sidelines of the summit, Bessent is scheduled to hold private bilateral talks with finance ministers from both major global economies and developing nations.
Washington aims to broaden international participation in isolating Iran economically, according to Bessent. He warned that the campaign would amount to economic violence if necessary, adding that United States officials know which entities continue doing business with Tehran and that such transactions must stop.
Pressure campaign targets foreign banks
The planned bank sanctions represent the latest step in a broad economic pressure initiative recently launched by Bessent. The campaign targets countries and institutions that continue transacting with the Islamic Republic of Iran despite existing international restrictions.
Washington has delivered a direct message to foreign governments, warning that entities maintaining economic or financial ties with Tehran must sever those links or face retaliatory measures from the United States.
The Treasury Department took its first official action under the new strategy on Friday by issuing a proposed regulatory rule. If finalized, the regulation will cut off access to the United States financial system for branches of Egypt's Banque Misr located in the United Arab Emirates.
Banque Misr is the second largest bank in Egypt. Founded in 1920, the state owned Cairo based lender operates hundreds of branches domestically alongside international operations across the Middle East and Europe, playing a major role in regional trade financing.
Mechanics of United States financial sanctions
The United States Department of the Treasury enforces financial penalties through federal regulations that govern foreign banking access. Denying a foreign institution access to the American financial system prevents it from opening or maintaining correspondent accounts with United States banks.
Because global trade relies heavily on dollar denominated clearing networks, losing access to American correspondent accounts effectively isolates a foreign bank from international commercial transactions and cross border wire transfers.
The United Arab Emirates serves as a primary financial and trading hub in the Persian Gulf region. Foreign bank branches operating within the country facilitate cross border trade and currency exchanges across the Middle East.
Global financial talks in Asheville
The G20, or Group of 20, is an international forum comprising the world's largest economies, created to foster international financial stability and economic cooperation. Meetings of G20 finance ministers provide a platform for economic policy coordination and bilateral diplomatic negotiations.
Asheville, a city in western North Carolina, is hosting the international gathering of financial officials. Bessent plans to use private sessions during the conference to push foreign counterparts to align their domestic banking policies with Washington's sanctions enforcement.
Treasury officials are expected to finalize details of the new banking sanctions later this week as the G20 talks proceed.
