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The Trump administration’s threat to inflict secondary sanctions on countries engaging with Iran has prompted outrage in Beijing.

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled “Operation Economic Outcast,” a campaign to isolate Iran from the global financial system. Such a shake-up comes as peace talks have ground to a halt, almost six months into the conflict.

Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Prescott Valley Event Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona. Image Credit: Gage Skidmore.

Donald Trump Back in 2016. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Throughout 2026, the Trump Administration has pursued a variety of strategies to deal with Iran.

Much of that time has been consumed by full-on war, sometimes interrupted by negotiations and ceasefires.

President Donald Trump, flanked by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, signs an Executive Order approving the Ambler Road Project in Alaska, Monday, October 6, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

President Donald J.

Last week, the White House vowed to unleash an “economic D-Day” on Iran amid the ongoing war.

Yet when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the campaign on Monday, a New York Times analysis suggested that Washington’s offensive amounted to a sanctions package, warning that much harsher measures could be around the corner.

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and wife Jennifer Hegseth, signs an executive order creating a new White House commission focused on military families, Monday, August 3, 2026, in the Oval Office.

British factories manufacturing weapons for Ukraine may face attacks from “unknown sources,” a top Kremlin adviser said on Monday.

Andrei Fedorov, who served as Russian deputy foreign minister in 1991, issued the warning following the news that Britain would release classified information to aid Ukrainian manufacturing of long-range SCALP cruise missiles.

Sea Baby Drone Ukraine. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Neptune Missile. Image Credit: Government of Ukraine.

Two Killed in Overnight Drone Attacks on Russian Oil Refinery – Two people have been killed after Ukraine struck an oil refinery in southern Russia in an overnight drone attack.

The Afipsky refinery, located in Russia’s Krasnodar region, was targeted in the latest assault by Kyiv on Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure.

Putin in Meeting Creative Commons Photo

Kremlin Speech by Putin. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

American Special Forces are conducting joint operations with local troops against drug cartels, and more U.S. military assets are incoming, Ecuadorian officials said last week. The announcements come nearly six months after the U.S. and Ecuador carried out their first joint strike against a group inside the country, which officials labeled as drug traffickers.
A local official said U.S. Green Berets have been operating in the Esmeraldas province, carrying out joint operations with Ecuadorian forces, according to reports from Agence France-Press and UPI.

The Trump Administration appears to be pursuing a different strategy in its quest to find an exit from the Iran conflict: Economic pressure, in what the president and Treasury Secretary are calling “Economic D-Day.”

Secretary Scott Bessent announced how the new sanctions would work on Monday afternoon. According to the New York Times, and as previously teased by President Donald Trump and Bessent, the idea is economic sanctions, including on countries that help Iran or do business with it in any way.

The UK and Ukraine have signed a major agreement to collaborate on AI, with the focus on developing enhanced military capabilities and new technology solutions.

Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, has named Česká letecká servisní (ČLS) as its first authorised distribution centre for Black Hawk helicopter parts in the European Union.

Ukraine began its war on Russia’s oil industry in the early days of the war.

But its campaign of drone strikes on refineries, storage tanks, oil sea transport terminals and other infrastructure did not widen into a systemic assault on this vital sector of Russia’s economy until late 2024 and on into 2025.

Putin New Year’s Message. Image Credit: Russian Government.

As an essay from the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) described last month, Ukraine struck “Russia’s Central Nervous System.