Trump declares ‘Economic D-Day’ against Iran, warns allies of ‘tremendous economic consequences’

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump on Wednesday, August 19, declared an “Economic D-Day” against Iran, announcing what he described as the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country.”

Trump also warned that the US will inflict “Tremendous Economic Consequences" on any country providing Tehran with financial or commercial support. The announcement comes after a 60-day ceasefire with Iran expired on Monday, August 17, with no sign of a diplomatic or military off-ramp to the conflict that the US and Israel began at the end of February this year.

Trump announces ‘Economic D-Day’ and threatens Iran’s economic lifelines

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran had failed to take what he described as a major opportunity to reach a deal with the United States. “No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me. Tragically, for them, they have failed to take it,” Trump wrote.

He then announced the new campaign, saying that “therefore, today, I am announcing the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale.”

Trump said the United States would target financial and commercial channels that provide Iran with revenue or access to international markets. He specifically cited “oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies,” warning that “it all needs to stop now. You know who you are.”

The president also warned that any country allowing its financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities to provide Iran with “any type of lifeline” would face “Tremendous economic consequences.”  Trump did not specify what penalties would be imposed on countries or entities that violate the new measures.

Trump ended his announcement by calling for US allies to support his new measure against Iran, stating, “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.”

Move comes as Iran talks remain stalled

Trump’s announcement comes after a 60-day agreement between Washington and Tehran expired without a final peace deal. The two sides remain divided over several issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, while the status of negotiations has remained unclear.

Trump on Tuesday, August 18, said that there were no talks currently taking place. “There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he wrote on Truth Social. The statement, however, came a day after Trump had said US representatives were in contact with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused Washington of escalating sanctions and argued that previous rounds of economic pressure had failed to force Tehran into submission.

The United States has also maintained a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports while the conflict has disrupted commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.