00:00Today, at President Trump's direction, the United States Treasury has begun Operation
00:06Economic Outcast, an unprecedented campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its
00:14enablers.
00:15In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to
00:22target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries.
00:28Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial
00:37connections around the globe.
00:40Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until
00:49Tehran stands alone.
00:52Iran's fanatics devote themselves to death to America and seek nuclear weapons to do
00:57just that.
00:59They have murdered and maimed more of our citizens and service members than any other terrorist
01:06regime on Earth.
01:08And they have been at war against America, their neighbors in the Gulf, and much of the
01:14world for 47 years.
01:16President Trump has taken action that his predecessors have long deferred.
01:21And under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat.
01:27We are ending it.
01:30Our great armed forces have laid the groundwork for achieving the President's objective of
01:36preventing Iran from ever obtaining nuclear weapons.
01:41They have shown America's resolve to finally end this threat.
01:45And the strength of America's economy under President Trump allows us to wage this sustained financial
01:52operation alongside the might of our military.
01:57Iran now faces a very clear choice with only two paths before them.
02:02Complete global isolation and a subsistence economy or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity
02:10to rejoin the global economy.
02:13Today we are launching Operation Economic Outcast to foreclose every other option available to
02:20the Iranian regime.
02:22Treasury has mapped every node, every facilitator, and every network that Iran has used to smuggle
02:30oil and evade sanctions.
02:32Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will tighten the noose and block
02:39every potential source of revenue that funds the IRGC and the evil Iranian regime.
02:46We are enforcing a zero-leakage approach.
02:49There will be no minimal breathing space for the regime to rebuild its capacity to inflict
02:55terror against America and the world.
02:58The final refuge of this regime is the mistaken conclusion of nations that still finance the
03:05Iranian threat in the hopes of evading it.
03:08It is no longer acceptable to operate in the gray spaces of this conflict.
03:14Countries cannot claim they are blind to enabling this activity.
03:20Iran's enablers purchase, transport its petroleum.
03:23They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones.
03:29They welcome Iran's flights and maintain registries on its behalf.
03:33They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and overland transits.
03:39They condone illicit use of their banks, all the while concealing the extent of their complicity.
03:46The president is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their
03:52interactions with the regime.
03:55We are already seeing results.
03:57Over the weekend, comments from Iranian leadership clearly acknowledged the effect of this campaign.
04:05And nations that facilitate any interactions with the regime should quickly heed our message.
04:12Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership.
04:17Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.
04:26Teams from Treasury, State, and the U.S. military are now meeting with their global counterparts to tell them that
04:35the United States expects action.
04:38Every country has a defined timeline to shut down activities we have identified.
04:43If they do not take action, we will do so unilaterally through Treasury authorities.
04:48For example, every branch of bank melee must be shuttered and dark.
04:57And let me be clear, any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the
05:07U.S. dollar system.
05:08The clock just started ticking.
05:10The new sectoral sanctions determinations issued today target five of Iran's most vital lifelines that it exploits in other countries.
05:22Digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping.
05:28These measures broaden secondary sanctions risk for anyone foolish enough to continue conducting business with this regime.
05:37And will accelerate the speed with which we pursue them.
05:42As I speak, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control is also sanctioning over 60 entities, individuals, and vessels around the
05:52world that enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and generate oil revenue.
06:02This is a sustained campaign to collapse every last option for Iran.
06:09Let there be no ambiguity as to the position of the United States.
06:14An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American
06:22power.
06:23For decades, this regime has drawn strength from a calculus that regards Iranian retaliation as certain and American enforcement as
06:34negotiable.
06:35Under President Trump, that era is over.
06:38To the ordinary soldiers supporting this regime, as more and more of your paychecks stop or supposedly just delayed, ask
06:47whether your commanders are leading your country to triumph or to ruin.
06:51And recall that the Berlin Wall fell when ordinary soldiers decided not to shoot at their own people.
06:59And to those who enable Tehran, do not discount the cost of testing Washington's resolve.
07:06No nation should expect to enjoy the rewards of our system while helping those who seek to destroy it.
07:15It is now a time for world leaders to make a decision between prosperity and isolation, peace and terror, America
07:25and Iran.
07:26The campaign we begin today will gather force with every day that follows, and it will not end until this
07:34regime stands alone.
07:36With that, I welcome your questions.
07:46David from Reuters.
07:50Hi, thanks, Secretary.
07:52One of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal is the ability to impose secondary sanctions on banks
08:00and financial institutions that facilitate transactions for Iran.
08:06Chinese banks have often been talked about being targeted, but we do not see any of those institutions targeted here.
08:15Is that something that is coming in this campaign, or is the very delicate trade truce with China something that
08:25could prohibit you from going that far and taking that very big step?
08:30We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions.
08:37That if they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they
08:49will be targeted.
08:50We find that the best way to engage with countries is through quiet diplomacy, and we are level setting with
09:01every country to tell them our expectations.
09:04We know who they are, they know who they are, so when the hammer of U.S. Treasury actions falls
09:12upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
09:18Richard from CBS.
09:20Thank you, sir.
09:24You said the President is calling world leaders with specific asks and that there is a defined timeline.
09:31Who is he calling and what are the asks?
09:33We are not going to name names.
09:34That we have already seen some results.
09:38And that I am confident the President, as you all know, is quite persuasive.
09:43And we are following his calls up with calls from visits and calls from the State Department and from the
09:50U.S. Treasury expecting them or telling the leaders and the countries and the entities exactly what we expect and
10:02the timelines.
10:02And I would expect that very quickly, if they do not respond, then you will see the ramifications of their
10:10actions.
10:11Can you say how far the timelines are?
10:14Again, I am not going to set timelines, but we do not have infinite patience here.
10:22Jennifer?
10:29Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary.
10:31Jennifer Schoenberger with Yahoo Finance.
10:32You just said moments ago that no one is above U.S. sanctions.
10:36What specific secondary sanctions or penalties is Treasury prepared to levy against Chinese banks and shipping firms if they do
10:44not comply?
10:45And then secondly, as you look to take these unprecedented sanctions, you have also said that as the Iran conflict
10:52fades and oil prices recede, that will help bring down long-term bond yields.
10:57In the meantime, you have mentioned your toolkit.
11:00And I am curious if you are looking at reducing auction sizes for longer-term dated Treasury debt going forward
11:07and what other actions you may consider from that toolkit.
11:10Well, why don't we work backwards?
11:12We issued the quarterly refunding announcement two and a half weeks ago.
11:18We are going to continue with our regular program of auctions.
11:22So you will be hearing from us again at the beginning of next quarter.
11:29In terms of, as I said, every country, every entity should know that they should be prepared to face U
11:38.S. sanctions.
11:39And no one is above this.
11:43We are going to hold everyone accountable.
11:47And this is economic asphyxiation of this regime.
11:53And, Jennifer, as I said, no one should test our resolve.
11:58So, Josh from New York Post.
12:11You said you weren't going to name names, but there's been some reports that the United Arab Emirates is among
12:17some of the first nations to take seriously these words from the United States to cut off all business interactions
12:26with Iran.
12:27Is UAE leading the way in this respect?
12:30I would think that the actions that they took last week were not coincident, but likely causal.
12:40And I would expect that we would see a broad array of countries taking similar actions as we continue our
12:48engagement.
12:48The UAE have been very good partners and have taken the brunt of the Iranian attacks in the Gulf.
12:59And what have, what have these countries gotten over the years from appeasing Iran?
13:06They were subject to violent attacks.
13:10While we were bombing Iran, they were bombing them.
13:14So, it shows that with, with this regime, appeasement does not work.
13:21And, on the other side, with this regime, trying to buy appeasement will no longer work in the eyes of
13:29the United States of America.
13:30And I want to emphasize that we are spreading out across the world as we speak, that you will see
13:39a wave of sanctions when you leave this meeting today.
13:42And you should expect that cadence to continue.
13:46And I would expect that you will see a major announcement of a financial institution being sanctioned by the end
13:54of this week.
13:55So, the, Samira from Sky.
14:07Mr. Secretary?
14:09Yep.
14:09No.
14:10No.
14:10Are you, no, I'm looking for Samira from Sky.
14:14Al Jazeera.
14:16And what did you do at the end?
14:18Mr. Secretary?
14:21Does the United States and President Trump still want Canada to become a state?
14:26He did say that they're getting all the benefits of being a state without being one.
14:32I think he would like Canada to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.
14:38They were offered quite a good deal last week.
14:42They chose to reject it.
14:44Unfortunately, Prime Minister Carney rose to power on an anti-American, anti-Trump platform.
14:50I believe he was more than 20 points behind.
14:53And, you know, he seems to have gone back to his old playbook.
14:56And I think one has to ask oneself, is he trying to benefit himself, the Liberal Party, or the Canadian
15:03people?
15:03Because they were offered a very good job.
15:06Mr. Secretary Besson?
15:09Yep.
15:10You?
15:12Thank you, Secretary Besson.
15:13If I could shift to bond yields quickly.
15:16We saw them tick down today after some turbulence and going up last week.
15:20Can you tell us if there's any possibility that there will be more bond buybacks anytime soon?
15:25Again, we haven't bought a single bond yet.
15:28The next time we have an operation is September 9th.
15:36So we will see on September 9th.
15:39All right.
15:41One more.
15:44Let's see.
15:46You in the front.
15:48You described this as an economic D-Day, but D-Day wasn't a threat of an invasion, and the U
15:54.S. didn't give a timeline to Germany.
15:56So why not impose the sanctions today?
16:00Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior.
16:07Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?
16:10We believe that it is important to level set and give people a cure period, but they should know that
16:17that will move very quickly and that we are serious.
16:20Secondary sanctions are a very powerful tool, and we here at Treasury, this is Gene Lang, the Acting Undersecretary for
16:29Terrorism Finance.
16:31And in the Terrorism Finance Department and at OFAC, the reason we are able to use secondary sanctions is because
16:38we do not take their use lightly.
16:40So we believe that a warning shot and a level set of expectations is appropriate, and if people do not
16:49want to meet our expectations, then we expect, and they should expect, that they will leave the dollar system.
16:56Okay?
16:56Thank you all.
