Treasury threatens foreign banks aiding Iran with ‘Economic Fury’ sanctions

The Treasury Department has threatened to impose secondary sanctions on foreign banks that may be aiding Iran as the weekslong war persists.

The secondary sanctions are part of the Trump administration’s “Economic Fury” effort, an allusion to Operation Epic Fury.

“Treasury is moving aggressively with Economic Fury, maintaining maximum pressure on Iran,” the department posted on X on Tuesday afternoon. “Financial institutions should be on notice that the department is leveraging the full range of available tools and authorities and is prepared to deploy secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that continue to support Iran’s activities.”

Unlike primary sanctions, secondary sanctions target third-party individuals or entities that are found to be aiding sanctioned countries from abroad.

The Treasury sent letters to China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman seeking their cooperation in dealing with the banks accused of permitting illicit transactions benefiting Iran, according to a copy obtained by Al-Monitor.