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The Trump administration has replaced military strikes on Iran with an economic blockade aimed at forcing the current regime to make a deal to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions, with President Trump signaling earlier this week that time was running out.
The president’s warning comes as analysts debate whether “Operation Economic Fury,” which is depriving the Iranian regime of hundreds of millions in revenue daily and has caused rampant inflation in the country, will actually work.
“The escalating pressure campaign marks one of the most aggressive U.S. efforts in years to economically isolate Iran. But the central question is whether this strategy can force meaningful concessions from a regime that has historically absorbed economic pain, or whether it risks triggering broader instability — from energy market shocks to regional escalation — before Iran is pushed to a breaking point,” says an analysis by Fox News.
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A senior administration official told Fox News Digital that the Treasury Department is aggressively expanding “Economic Fury” beyond traditional sanctions by targeting Iran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds through oil, banking, cryptocurrency, and covert trade networks.
The official said Treasury has disrupted billions of dollars in projected Iranian oil revenue in recent days, including freezing $344 million in regime-linked cryptocurrency, while increasing pressure on Chinese “teapot” refineries, foreign banks, and sanctions-evasion networks that facilitate Tehran’s trade, the outlet reported.
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The Treasury Dept. has also warned financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman that continued facilitation of illicit Iranian commerce could trigger secondary sanctions. Officials also signaled that foreign companies, including airlines, could face penalties if they support prohibited Iranian activity.
However, Alireza Nader, an Iranian independent analyst based in Washington, told Fox he is skeptical that economic pressure lone will break the regime. “It looks like a game of chicken and I think the regime thinks that it can win this game of chicken with President Trump,” he said.
“I don’t see this economic blockade … leading to some sort of breaking point for the regime,” Nader added, noting that in the past the regime has been content to allow the public to suffer in order to remain in power.
“The regime cares about staying in power,” he told Fox. “The economic clock is moving much faster on Iran than on its adversaries.”
That skepticism contrasts sharply with Miad Maleki, a former Treasury sanctions analyst, who argues Washington may now have its strongest leverage over Iran since the 1979 revolution. “We’ve never had the level of leverage that we have today with Iran in the history of our conflict … since 1979,” Maleki told Fox.
What makes things different this time, Maleki said, is the combination of economic pressure combined with the naval blockade and aggressive secondary enforcement.
He added that Iran’s already fragile economy — marked by 104% food inflation and an estimated 90% collapse in purchasing power — could suffer roughly $435 million in daily economic losses if maritime restrictions remain in place. “Iran’s economy relies on the Strait of Hormuz more than any other economy,” Maleki said.
Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled to receive a briefing on Thursday regarding new plans for potential military action in Iran from CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper, according to two sources familiar with the situation, as reported by Axios.
The briefing indicates that Trump is seriously contemplating the resumption of major combat operations, either to advance negotiations or to deliver a final strike before concluding the war.
“CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a ‘short and powerful’ wave of strikes on Iran — likely including infrastructure targets — in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, three sources with knowledge said,” Axios reported.
“The hope would be that Iran would then return to the negotiating table showing more flexibility on the nuclear issue,” said the outlet, citing its sources.
