Updated

The US Treasury, under Secretary Bessent, is preparing to sanction another bank as part of an intensified economic pressure campaign against Iran amid deadlocked truce talks, which officials have described as an "economic D-Day" aimed at weakening or toppling Tehran's government. Iran's leadership, having weathered prior rounds of sanctions, appears confident it can again withstand the pressure, having built deep trade ties with countries such as China, which continues to purchase much of Iran's oil. China publicly condemned the new US sanctions on Iran and its trading partners as "illegal," threatening a diplomatic rift as Washington moves to isolate nations still doing business with Tehran. The dispute highlights the broader geopolitical stakes of the sanctions push, which are intertwined with the ongoing US-Iran military confrontation in the Gulf.