Trump’s economic isolation plan risks Iran strikes across Gulf

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington on Thursday. Bessent is expected to detail new economic measures targeting Iran on Monday. | Kenny Holston / The New York Times

Aug 23, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump is betting new sanctions, a naval blockade and ramped-up economic pressure against Iran’s trading partners can accomplish what thousands of bombs and missiles could not: force Tehran to accept a deal to end the war on U.S. terms. 

But like other U.S. efforts to force Iran into capitulation, there’s one main problem: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has claimed control of the vital Strait of Hormuz and sent volleys of attack drones across the Persian Gulf, may be impervious to such pressure — and has plenty of ways to retaliate.

A key part of the U.S. effort will come on Monday, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has promised to unveil details of a plan designed to shift the conflict from tit-for-tat strikes across the Middle East to full-blown economic isolation — a campaign that could touch nations ranging from China and India to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

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