Move is latest step in Treasury’s Iran economic isolation campaign
The Treasury Department proposed a rule Friday that would sever the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, from access to the U.S. financial system, accusing the financial institution of serving as an economic lifeline to Tehran’s leadership.
The proposed action comes as the U.S. war against Iran reaches the six-month mark and follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement this week of a new campaign to push countries that still do business with the heavily sanctioned Islamic Republic to sever their financial ties or face retaliation from the United States.
In stopping short of imposing sanctions on the Egyptian bank, the move signals the Republican administration’s reluctance to penalize major trading partners that maintain commercial ties to Iran, including China and India. Bessent told reporters Monday that he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was “too late,” in a bid to avoid upending the global financial system.
The Banque Misr action comes after Treasury Secretary Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast earlier in the week, the broader sanctions campaign that included a warning that an unnamed financial institution would soon face penalties, and follows reporting that Iranian bank branches in Dubai remained open despite the UAE’s stated halt on transactions with Tehran.