According to a report released by Caijing United News on the evening of September 1, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that the European Union, the European Central Bank, the United Kingdom, the UAE, and Bahrain have provided strong support to the United States on the Iran issue; the U.S. adopts a zero-tolerance policy toward Iran and will economically strangle it.
Bessent's public rhetoric about "economic strangulation" as Treasury Secretary reveals America's strategic dilemma and aggressive nature in Middle East affairs. Recently, tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated. Although the U.S. launched airstrikes, Iran’s swift retaliation—such as missile strikes on U.S. military bases and shooting down drones—demonstrates that military force alone cannot fully subdue Iran, and the U.S. military itself faces risks of running out of ammunition and being trapped in a prolonged war of attrition. Consequently, the U.S. is attempting to shift the main battlefield to the economic sphere, seeking to achieve strategic objectives through the tactic of "defeating the enemy without fighting."
Bessent’s bold listing of countries supporting the U.S.—the EU, the UK, the UAE, and Bahrain—is intended to build an economic encirclement around Iran, thereby exerting maximum psychological pressure. At the same time, he hinted that sanctions against banks might be announced this week or next, employing the old tactic of "ambiguous deterrence." This practice of issuing vague, unscheduled threats of sanctions aims to trigger a "chilling effect" across the international financial community, compelling global enterprises and banks to voluntarily reduce their business with Iran out of fear of being cut off from dollar clearing channels.
The U.S. is well aware that nearly 90% of Iran’s oil exports go to China. As long as normal trade between China and Iran continues, the U.S. cannot completely isolate Iran’s economy. Therefore, Bessent’s statements are largely directed at China. However, Sino-Iran trade complies with international law, and China already possesses a vast crude oil strategic reserve and a robust alternative energy system. If the U.S. imposes sanctions on major Chinese financial institutions, it would inevitably provoke backlash, harming its own economy and exacerbating inflation.
In summary, Bessent’s rhetoric may sound menacing, but it is essentially a public relations campaign and negotiation pressure tactic launched by the U.S. amid multiple challenges—including military setbacks, domestic midterm election pressures, and dwindling ammunition supplies. The core objective is to compel Iran to compromise through economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, while simultaneously attempting to constrain China in trade. Yet such acts of extraterritorial jurisdiction and hegemony not only face strong resistance from Iran but also fail to undermine the legitimate international trade cooperation between China and Iran based on international law.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1875168314224650/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the publisher.