New U.S. sanctions will hit ordinary Iranians hard. That may be the whole point as the crashing economy stirs fresh protests

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laid out plans for an “economic D-Day” against Iran on Monday,  seeking to further isolate the regime from the rest of the world.

The U.S. will expand its use of secondary sanctions against entities and countries that engage with Iran. Bessent also said any country that helps Iran will be removed from the dollar-based financial system.

In addition, he targeted five of Iran’s “most vital lifelines”: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping.

But Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder and CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation think tank, said those are actually lifelines for the Iranian people,