US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a major escalation of sanctions against Iran on Monday, unveiling Operation Economic Outcast aimed at isolating Tehran from the global financial system. The US dollar gained approximately 0.2% on the DXY index while Iran’s rial fell to a record low of 2.02 million per US dollar. The sanctions target a broad set of channels including oil revenues, digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. Iran’s economy was already suffering from inflation approaching 90%, and a major Iranian bank collapsed in December 2025. The Treasury also explicitly targeted digital assets, signaling that crypto exchanges processing Iranian transactions could face secondary sanctions.
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