NEW YORK (VINnews) — The Trump administration is intensifying its economic campaign against Iran, betting that unprecedented financial pressure and tighter enforcement of sanctions will weaken Tehran enough to force it to accept U.S. terms for ending the conflict or potentially destabilize the country’s leadership.

The administration’s stated strategy is to deprive Iran of financial resources, deepen its economic crisis and fuel domestic unrest through what U.S. officials have described as an unprecedented campaign of economic isolation.

The next phase of the campaign is expected to expand beyond sanctions on Iran’s oil sector to include broader restrictions on trade, finance and companies doing business with Tehran.

The timing is also significant. With U.S. congressional midterm elections less than three months away, analysts say President Donald Trump could have greater political flexibility afterward to escalate pressure further, including the possibility of renewed military strikes if diplomacy fails.

Economic and intelligence assessments cited in the report suggest the effects of the naval blockade and sanctions campaign are expected to intensify toward the end of the year.

Iran is already facing severe economic strain. According to the report, official inflation has reached about 80%, with prices of essential goods rising even faster. Public-sector wages and pensions have reportedly been reduced, while unemployment is estimated at around 30%.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has pledged to impose economic measures against Iran “never seen before,” signaling a dramatic expansion of sanctions beyond oil exports and military-related industries.

Trump has echoed that message, describing the effort as an “unprecedented economic isolation” campaign against Iran.

According to the report, the United States is planning additional measures to tighten maritime enforcement around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for Iranian trade, while expanding sanctions against companies and countries that continue commercial ties with Iran.

The new restrictions are expected to target a broad range of industries, exempting only humanitarian goods such as food and medicine.

Companies in countries including China, Pakistan, Turkey and Russia could face U.S. sanctions if they continue conducting prohibited business with Iran, according to the report.

The Treasury Department is also increasing efforts to identify, freeze and seize Iranian financial assets held in banks and cryptocurrency networks.

According to intelligence assessments cited in the report, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has shifted a significant portion of its assets into cryptocurrencies to facilitate international transactions while avoiding sanctions enforcement.

U.S. officials reportedly have already identified and frozen some of those assets and continue pursuing others.

Particular attention has focused on Khatam al-Anbiya, the IRGC’s vast engineering and business conglomerate, which is believed to control nearly half of Iran’s economy. Officials believe disrupting its finances would significantly undermine the regime’s economic resilience.

Signs of growing economic distress are also emerging from within Iran.

According to the report, Davoud Rangi, deputy chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, warned that the country could struggle to withstand a severe maritime blockade for more than three months.

Speaking to an Iranian journalist, Rangi reportedly said Iran lacks sufficient reserves of essential goods to endure a prolonged disruption of maritime imports, particularly food staples such as wheat and corn.

Iran has sought to compensate by expanding overland trade routes through Pakistan and Turkey, but Rangi acknowledged that land transportation cannot replace maritime shipping.

He estimated that replacing the cargo of a single commercial vessel would require roughly 2,500 trucks, while Iran normally relies on at least 400 cargo ships for imports of essential goods. Rangi reportedly urged Iranian leaders to return to negotiations.

In the meantime, Iran has stopped publishing official trade statistics since the conflict began. While Iranian officials acknowledge a decline of at least 30% in trade since the beginning of the year, trade data released by partner countries suggests a significantly steeper downturn.

China, Iran’s largest trading partner, accounted for roughly one-third of Iran’s non-oil foreign trade before the conflict and purchased about 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports.

Chinese customs data cited in the report indicates that non-oil trade between the two countries totaled less than $823 million during the first four months of the conflict, from March through June, approximately 75% lower than during the same period a year earlier.

Trade with several of Iran’s other major commercial partners has also fallen sharply.

The United Arab Emirates, Iran’s second-largest trading partner, has reportedly suspended most trade with Tehran following repeated Iranian attacks during the conflict.

Official Turkish data shows exports to Iran fell by nearly half between March and June, to approximately $716 million, while Turkish imports from Iran declined 37% to about $907 million, underscoring the growing impact of the expanding U.S.-led economic pressure campaign.