Pezeshkian Announces New Arrangement
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Saturday that Tehran has put in place a fresh arrangement to handle what he called special circumstances, at a time when Washington is stepping up economic pressure and sanctions aimed at Iran's financial and commercial networks. Writing on X, Pezeshkian charged that the country's adversaries, above all the US, want to sever the Islamic Republic's essential economic lifelines in order to squeeze its population. He added that even with this growing pressure, backing from the public and steps taken by the government had blocked those aims.[S1][S2]
In that post, Pezeshkian stated that his administration had put a new arrangement in place to handle these special circumstances. He said that over recent months the enemy's strategy had been to sever the nation's vital arteries in order to bring pressure on Iran's noble people. He went on to say that although economic pressure had grown, divine grace, the people standing alongside the government, and the efforts of his government colleagues had meant the enemy's goals in the economic war were not permitted to come to pass.[S1]
US Sanctions Campaign Intensifies
Pezeshkian's comments came as Washington pursues a wider sanctions drive against Iran's economy and against the networks it says back the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In August, the US Department of the Treasury rolled out Operation Economic Outcast, describing it as an unprecedented, whole-of-government economic campaign aimed at Iran and those enabling it. After the operation began, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Treasury personnel had been dispatched worldwide to press other governments to act against Iran.[S1]
The US Treasury Department says Operation Economic Outcast is meant to cut the economic lifelines keeping the Iranian government and the IRGC going. It described the steps as part of a sustained, systematic effort to shut down every financial resource backing Iran, which Washington calls the world's foremost state sponsor of terror. The department said it had charted the networks, facilitators and financial channels Iran relies on to smuggle oil, dodge sanctions and finance terror, and pledged it would show no compromise in going after any source of the government's illicit revenue.[S1]
Aviation Sector Targeted
The newest pressure has reached Iran's aviation sector as well, with Washington cautioning foreign firms and service providers that backing Iranian carriers could expose them to secondary sanctions. Last month, the US Treasury sanctioned Iranian airlines that had escaped targeting until then, plus non-Iranian companies accused of aiding Iran's aviation sector. Years of US sanctions have already heavily constrained Iranian aviation, curbing carriers' capacity to buy new planes and secure spare parts and maintenance. The recent steps belong to a broader US sanctions framework covering Iran's economy, among them energy, shipping, technology, gold and digital-asset sectors.[S1]
