Trump Bets on Iran Sanctions Before Midterms
Trump Bets on Iran Sanctions Before Midterms
The News
The Trump administration has shifted its roughly six-month-old war with Iran into an economic pressure campaign — and it is now bumping into the rest of the president's foreign policy.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled "Operation Economic Outcast" on Monday, threatening to cut off any country that keeps doing business with Iran.
The problem: about 90% of Iran's crude went to China before the war started, and going after Chinese banks would put a U.S.-China trade truce at risk.
Timeline
The war with Iran is now roughly six months old. Reporting from The Atlantic and MSNBC says it has overtaxed the U.S. military, strained regional alliances, and left Iran with more regional influence than it had before the fighting began.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in May, extending a trade truce between the two countries.
In July, food prices in Iran ran 128% higher than a year earlier.
On Monday, Bessent announced the sanctions campaign.
On Tuesday, Iran's currency hit an all-time low of 2.05 million rials to the dollar.
The Strait of Hormuz remains contested. Iran continues to menace shipping and has insisted on charging transit fees.
Reactions
One Trump adviser told reporters the strategy is simply about timing: "We're just trying to hang on until the midterms."
Trump has privately told political allies he would declare victory once the strait reopens, according to a senior administration official and an outside adviser cited in the reporting.
In Tehran, Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh pointed to a two-year self-sufficiency plan on state television. Iranian authorities say they can absorb the sanctions but have warned of a hard year ahead, Al Jazeera reported.
Coverage splits on motive. The Atlantic frames the pivot as a way to push the war out of voters' minds before November; MSNBC argues the campaign endangers U.S. trade with China and India.
What's Next
Trump and Xi are expected to meet next month, which complicates any move against Chinese buyers of Iranian oil.
Democrats are favored to take the House in November; the Senate is rated a toss-up.
The open questions: whether Washington actually sanctions Chinese entities and how Beijing answers, whether Iran can outlast the pressure, and what the administration has left if the strait is still contested after Election Day.
More
Sources for this story: The Atlantic, MSNBC, Al Jazeera and Iran International.
UMass Dartmouth Running Back, 18, Stabbed to Death
Trump Vows 'AI Force,' Czar; Polls Name Change
Sep 20, 2026
Iran Sends Trump Three Conditions to End War
Sep 19, 2026
Faulty AI Intel Nearly Started War With China
Sep 19, 2026
German General Breuer Elected NATO's Top Officer
Sep 19, 2026
Nobel Laureate: War, Sanctions Crushing Iranians
Sep 19, 2026
Dutch Police Disperse Violent Far-Right Hague Protest
Sep 19, 2026
GOP Midterm Odds Fade With 45 Days Left
Sep 19, 2026
Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
Sep 19, 2026
Patrick Clancy Breaks Silence After Ex-Wife Killed Kids
Sep 19, 2026
Trump Cuts Park Staff, Diverts Fees to DC
Sep 19, 2026
Holocaust Heirs Sue LA Museums Over Looted Art
Sep 19, 2026
Trump's Fed Chair Hikes Rates, Defying White House
Sep 19, 2026
Miller Drives Push to Deport Illegal Immigrant Children
Sep 19, 2026
US Lifts Sanctions on Eritrea's Military, Ruling Party
Sep 19, 2026
Air Force Admits US Has Space Weapons
Sep 19, 2026
Turkey Revokes License of Iran's Mellat Bank
Sep 19, 2026
Billionaire Ratcliffe Blasts Britain Over Immigration, Taxes
Sep 19, 2026
Navajo Nation Flash Flood Kills Three
Sep 19, 2026
Explosions Over Riyadh Trigger Saudi Air Alerts
Sep 19, 2026
Sep 19, 2026