US Targets Third-Country Firms in Sweeping Sanctions on Iran
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent has announced 'Operation Economic Outcast', a sweeping package of secondary sanctions aimed at severing Iran from global commercial networks. The move, described as an 'economic D-Day' by Bessent, targets third-country corporations and financial institutions that maintain business ties with Iran.
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated several companies for extraterritorial sanctions, including Airbus, TotalEnergies, Eni, Renault, Stellantis (PSA), Siemens, and Grifols. These companies have been forced to withdraw from Iran due to the risk of losing access to US dollar clearing facilities and the American domestic market.
The restrictions have also affected Spanish industrial sectors, including heavy steel and capital goods manufacturing, as well as the ceramic tile and machinery cluster in Castellón. The inability to repatriate payments through international banking channels has frozen trade flows, creating liquidity pressures for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and forcing suppliers to absorb non-payment write-offs.