President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are pursuing an 'economic D-Day' for Iran after failed military strikes that cost 18 American lives and over $100 billion. The strategy, called Operation Economic Outcast, aims to sever all economic lifelines to Iran by choking off transactions including digital payments, oil shipments, and gold movements. Scott Bessent described it as a sustained effort to collapse every option for Iran.

Critics question why such sanctions were not used before military action, especially given China's role—purchasing over 80 percent of Iran's oil exports in 2025. The administration risks confrontation with Beijing, already tense over AI, Taiwan, and nuclear expansion. Peter Harrell, a Georgetown Law visiting scholar, noted it was politically easier to block Iranian tankers than sanction Chinese firms.

Bessent threatened secondary sanctions on nations trading with Iran but avoided mentioning China directly, likely to avoid angering the world's second-largest economy ahead of Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington.