Trump Shares WSJ Editorial Backing Bessent’s Iran Sanctions Campaign
Trump posts Wall Street Journal opinion piece praising Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's “Operation Economic Outcast” pressure campaign against Iran.
WASHINGTON D.C. — Donald J. Trump shared a Wall Street Journal editorial board opinion piece backing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent‘s escalating economic pressure campaign against Iran.
The editorial, published on August 24, 2026, described Bessent announcing what he called “Operation Economic Outcast” against Iran and its enablers. Bessent compared the action to D-Day and said the objective was “to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” the editorial reported. Trump mentioned the source (see wsj).
Here is the full post on truthsocial: “Trump Unleashes Scott Bessent on Iran: https://www.wsj.com/opinion/donald-trump-scott-bessent-sanctions-iran-oil-economy-96362772” on August 26, 2026 at 12:26 PM ET.
President Donald J. Trump shared a Wall Street Journal editorial at WASHINGTON D.C.
© copyright Zenger.News
This is Trump’s first message released today, and the last post was 5 days ago, and it is not part of a thread. On average, Trump produces 18 posts per day since his inauguration on January 20, 2025. The move fits a broader pattern in Trump’s recent messaging, with 17 of his 310 posts over the last 30 days classified as Foreign Policy posts.
Bessent, a former macro-economic trader who managed funds for George Soros before running his own hedge fund, leads the Treasury Department after Trump nominated him for the role, according to aei.org. The editorial detailed that Trump had been “working the phones” and that every country had a “defined timeline to shut down activities we have identified.” Bessent warned of unilateral action against countries that failed to comply.
47th President Donald J. Trump posted a Wall Street Journal editorial on Truth Social at WASHINGTON D.C.
© copyright Zenger.News
Iran’s central-bank governor admitted the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports drove the regime’s oil exports to zero, the editorial reported. The United Arab Emirates announced a halt to all trade with Iran. Bessent called the timing “not a coincidence.”
Iran’s currency plummeted past 2 million rials to the dollar, a new record, according to wsj. The rial stood at 1.4 million at the start of the year, 750,000 in 2024 and 70,000 when Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
47th President of the United States Donald J. Trump posted a Wall Street Journal editorial at WASHINGTON D.C.
© copyright Zenger.News
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged that “the war must come to an end at some point” and acknowledged economic shortages, the editorial said. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary speaker and top negotiator, said, “No matter how much military power we have, if people are hungry and we don’t have financial circulation, economic growth and domestic production, we will not endure.”
The editorial questioned whether the Trump administration would target Chinese state-owned banks and other institutions sustaining Iranian oil purchases by small “teapot” refineries. Bessent warned that institutions facilitating transactions turning “Iranian oil into money into repression” would face consequences. He also cautioned against wanting to “blow up the global financial system,” the editorial reported.
Bessent pledged “a major announcement of a financial institution being sanctioned by the end of this week.” A date for broader sanctions action beyond that pledge has not been specified.
NewsFindr Chart Maker
Photo by Zenger real-time database of all Truth Social posts.
Zenger analysis
Photo by Zenger analysis