US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Iran and warned all countries that do business with the Islamic Republic to sever those financial ties or face retaliation from the United States. President Donald Trump’s promise last week to trigger an “economic D-Day” against Tehran turned out to be a new warning to isolate Iran from the rest of the global economy. Asked why the United States was not imposing secondary sanctions on Iran’s trading partners, Bessent told reporters that he wanted countries to have the opportunity to move away from Iran before it was too late. “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” Bessent said. The Trump administration is struggling to find a way out of nearly six months of an unpopular war with an increasingly stubborn Iran. Washington had promised that new sanctions would put even more pressure on an Iranian economy already battered by previous sanctions and a US naval blockade. Story continues below ad 1:56 Iran will face toughest sanctions in history, Trump admin says. But Monday’s announcement provided few details and did not name which countries could face secondary sanctions. China, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates are Iran’s largest trading partners. “We are being honest with each country to tell them our expectations. We know who they are. They know who they are,” Bessent said. “So when the hammer of US Treasury stocks comes down on them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.” Calling the campaign “Operation Economic Pariah,” Bessent said Trump has been “making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions” with Iran and has already seen results. The United Arab Emirates announced last week that it would suspend all trade, commerce and financial transactions with Iran until further notice after a missile attack on the Gulf country. Bessent said the UAE’s decision was “not a coincidence.” Shortly before the announcement, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict Tehran’s relations with other countries. “Iran’s trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they do not take these statements into account anywhere,” Qalibaf, who has been Iran’s chief negotiator for the past six months, posted on Bessent is pressed on what the new campaign means for China. Asked whether the United States would target China, Bessent said “no one is above the reach of American sanctions,” despite the fragile trade truce in place between the world’s two largest economies. “If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be the target,” he added. Get daily national news Get daily Canadian news delivered to your inbox so you never miss the day’s top stories. Experts say the United States is likely to carefully calibrate its actions on China, just a month before Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected to visit the United States. The significance of the announcement “depends on how aggressively President Trump is willing to impose it,” said Ali Wyne, senior research and advocacy adviser on U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group. “So far, despite threatening dire economic consequences for countries that do business with Iran, it has largely given China a pass.” The Treasury Department said Monday it was imposing sanctions on nearly 60 entities linked to Iran, accusing them of involvement in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, cyber activities and oil shipments. That includes Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean Industrial Limited and associated individuals and companies, which were accused of helping Iran acquire sensitive goods such as laser optics equipment. Also sanctioned was China-based Shenzhen Huamei, which is a service provider for Iran-based logistics company BRE Line, as well as BRE Line’s Hong Kong branch, for allegedly supporting nuclear and missile programs. 1:54 Trump says Iran should pay compensation for people killed in previous conflicts Iranian currency falls to record low Hours before Bessent’s announcement, the Iranian currency hit a record low. More on the world More videos Story continues below ad The rial fell to 2.02 million per US dollar when trading in currency markets opened. The Central Bank of Iran’s official rate remained at around 1.5 million rials to the dollar, but the market rate is what most Iranians pay. The currency had already been under pressure before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, when Iran faced double-digit inflation and negative growth. The rial has repeatedly hit new lows as nearly six months of war have taken an even greater toll. Iranians find daily essentials increasingly unaffordable. Since the war began, rice has risen about 60% and beef prices are more than 150% higher. The International Monetary Fund predicts that gross domestic product will contract more than 5%. Still, economic pressure has not yet translated into political pressure. Iran retains a key strategic advantage: Its attacks and threats on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have almost completely paralyzed traffic in the vital waterway, damaging the global economy and increasing pressure on US President Donald Trump ahead of congressional elections. As a result, the war has become a fight over who controls the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil transited before the conflict. Iran now refuses to fully reopen it unless it can charge the ships. Iran and Oman, which is on the opposite side of the strait, are reported to be in the final stages of agreeing on a plan for joint management of the waterway. Oman’s foreign minister will visit Iran on Tuesday. Pakistan, which played a key role in brokering a 60-day ceasefire in June, sent a high-level delegation to Iran on Monday to encourage the United States and Iran to return to negotiations, two senior officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The military confirmed only Field Marshal Asim Munir’s visit, saying it was aimed at reducing tensions in the region. Trump spoke with Munir before the army chief’s visit to Iran, according to a person familiar with the discussion who spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm a private conversation. Reuters, citing Pakistani sources, was first to report the call. Munir met with Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni in Tehran, according to the two senior officials. Munir was accompanied by Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials. Munir was expected to stay in Iran overnight and meet the Iranian president and other senior officials before returning to Pakistan. His previous visit to Tehran in May helped pave the way for a memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran in June. In central Tehran, Sadegh Mahmoudi, 73, held out no hope for a resolution. He joined a line of about a dozen people to buy US dollars with their remaining savings to protect against further declines. “There is no hope for an agreement and peace,” he said. Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press journalists Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; David Rising in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Seung Min Kim in Washington; and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed.