The Brent crude, a reference in the European market, registers a strong correction close to 3% and falls to 89.45 dollars per barrel at 1:00 PM, after the United States has launched its trade offensive against Iran, dubbed "Economic Pariah," with which it aims to completely isolate the Iranian economy and even punish countries that maintain any economic ties with the Asian country.
The Brent thus retreated from the 92.11 dollars reached at the opening, after a night in which the U.S. government detailed a broad package of sanctions aimed at entities, individuals, and ships related to the Islamic Republic, framed in what has been presented as the "largest financial offensive ever orchestrated against an adversary."
In parallel, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a reference in the United States, also suffered cuts exceeding 3% and was around 82.3 dollars.
"Starting today (this Monday), the actions of the Treasury Department and other agencies will tighten the noose and block any possible source of income that finances the Revolutionary Guard and the evil Iranian regime. We are applying a zero leaks approach," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement to the media.
The Trump Administration had been anticipating the implementation of new punitive measures against the Iranian economy for several days, even describing the operation as the "Economic D-Day" -- in reference to the Normandy Landing in World War II. However, Bessent only specified at this stage additional sanctions on 60 organizations and individuals, including military personnel and high-ranking officials of the country.
At the same time, Bessent urged the international community to cut any economic ties with Tehran, warning of possible reprisals against those who facilitate Iranian financing, although without specifying what type of actions are being considered or which states could be affected.
When questioned about the apparent lack of firmness and the delay in implementing harsher measures, the Treasury official emphasized that they consider it "important" to grant a margin for adaptation to the affected countries. "We believe that a warning and a clear level of expectations is appropriate, and if people do not want to meet our expectations, then we expect, and they should expect, to leave the dollar system," he stressed.
The key debate now lies in how far Washington will be willing to go with future sanctions on states that continue to trade with Iran. China is the main buyer of Iranian oil, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) maintains a bilateral exchange of around 21 billion dollars with Tehran, and Turkey largely depends on Iranian natural gas, among other notable cases.
For the moment, the senior U.S. official has expressed a preference for exhausting the diplomatic route for these countries, and many others, to break their economic ties with Iran. However, Beijing has already responded that it will take "all necessary measures" to "firmly protect its legitimate rights and interests" against any actions by the United States.
"China is closely following the events and will take all necessary measures to firmly protect its legitimate rights and interests," stated the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, who reiterated Beijing's rejection of "illegal unilateral sanctions," according to the Chinese newspaper 'Global Times'.
Response from Iran and reminder of Iraq
The Iranian government has downplayed Washington's warnings and has responded with irony, evoking the famous speech by former U.S. President George W. Bush in May 2003, when he proclaimed that U.S. forces had "completed the mission" initiated six weeks earlier with the invasion of Iraq.
That message from Bush, in which he announced the end of major "combat operations" and the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, was later heavily questioned and deemed premature, especially in light of the intensification of the Iraqi insurgency, whose attacks continued until the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011.