US VS IRAN: Tanker struck in Hormuz as US military issues NEW warning

So, in the Middle East, the Trump. administration announcing hard-hitting. economic sanctions on Iran as the war. secretary says the use of military force. still in play. Chief foreign. correspondent Trey Yingst joins us live. from Tel Aviv with the details. Trey, how did that big announcement go over. yesterday? >> Yeah, hey Brian. On Monday, Secretary. Treasury Scott Bessent announced. Operation Economic Outcast, a US plan to. isolate the Iranian regime. Among the. new sanctions that were announced are.

secondary sanctions that are actually. targeting a variety of different assets. including technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. In addition, the Treasury. Department sanctioned nearly 60. entities, individuals, and vessels in. multiple jurisdictions. The actions go. after what the department describes as a. network of shadow fleet vessels. operating across many different. countries. Iranian officials threatened. retaliation to the economic measures. with the country's foreign ministry. spokesperson saying this. >> Any complicity with the United States in.

carrying out its aggressive actions. against Iran will certainly have. consequences. Even now, the naval blockade of Iran. amounts to an act of aggression. Any escalation of this situation will. undoubtedly bring about consequences of. its own. >> Earlier this morning, another tanker was. struck in the Strait of Hormuz with an. unknown projectile while transiting the. US approved southern route. The vessel. had damage caused to its engine room and. was disabled. Secretary of War Pete. Hegseth warned Iran against taking.

further provocative action on Monday. >> If Iran is foolish enough to to. to um overplay their hand or mess with. the with the American military, we'll do. what we need to do. But economic pressure we know hurts them. the most right now. Uh and but by no. means are we foreclosing using kinetic. strikes uh anywhere uh in the Strait of. Hormuz or or around Iran. >> We're also tracking another development. in the region. Syria has been taken off. the US state sponsor of terrorism list.

This was met with praise by Syrian. President Ahmad al-Shara, who said his. country is focused on rebuilding. Brian. >> All right, uh Trey, thanks so much. Appreciate it. >> Our objective is to sever every economic. lifeline that sustains this tyrannical. regime until Tehran stands alone. Iran now faces a very clear choice with. only two paths before them.

Complete global isolation and a. subsistence economy, or a path back to. normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin. the global economy. Today we are launching Operation. Economic Outcast to foreclose every. other option available to the Iranian. regime. >> All right, there you go. Treasury. Secretary Scott Bessent announcing. Operation Economic Outcast. Here to. break it down is the co-host of the Big. Money Show, cuz it is all about money. right now. Fox Business Zone Taylor. Riggs. Taylor, great to see you.

>> Yeah, thanks for having me. >> So, overall, what do you think of the. announcement? What do you think of the. press conference? >> Really good. So, I think Scott Bessent. was really good. He came out and he. said, "We're not going to name names. We're doing behind-the-scenes. diplomacy." But then he called out a. couple people like the UAE that took. action last week, started cutting off. Iran. When a reporter asked him about. it, he said, "That may not be a. coincidence. It actually may be more. causation of of some of the phone calls. that we're making." He also said that. we'll be expecting another big uh bank. to come out by Friday and also talk. about sanctions. We're looking at maybe.

Hong Kong, Dubai, or Singapore as some. of these countries that are going to. start to cut off Iran. He mentioned just. quickly that Berlin Wall, and he said. the Berlin Wall fell. when soldiers stopped shooting their own. people. I think that was a call out to. the IRGC. If you stop getting paid, what's your motivation to shoot your. people? If you just stop, that gives. that country and the people a chance to. uprise and sort of pull down that Berlin. Wall metaphor. >> The problem is the IRGC are the worst of. the worst. They are true terrorists. All. right, so they want to financially.

isolate Iran. And one of the the big. things with this is the UAE coming. aboard right away. That's the number one. trading partner. They refine most of the. oil that Iran has and they are the ones. the number one exporter and importer of. Iranian goods. So that is huge. The. targets, oil shipping, technology, gold. and digital assets. They do that with. cryptocurrency, don't they? >> They do. So here's the one concern that. I have. When we were putting sanctions. on. on Russia, they said, "Okay, fine. We. won't use the dollar. We're going to.

trade in yuan, the Chinese currency." So. they were able to evade a little bit. So. and go into things like crypto or some. of these other dark assets. So I just. want to be sure that when we're putting. sanctions and cutting off Iran from the. US financial system, the dollar, that. they don't then go just turn around and. use a brick currency or a Chinese yuan. And so I think that could be sort of the. backhanded. unintended consequence when you use the. dollar as that negotiating tool. Make. sure that they can't get around it all.

our crypto. >> want people to get off the dollar as the. as the world currency. And also there's. I guess 2 trillion rial for every $1. So. it's crazy. Um US. 2 million. US warning, the countries and. companies and banks that do business. with Iran sanctions and losing access to. the dollar system. >> Yes. >> I'm wondering what China is going to do. That's going to be big. >> though the US dollar is the world's. reserve currency. So even though the. yuan has been trying to come in and make. plays, there's nothing that competes.

with the dollar. >> All right, in current action now, we. know that the number in the Iranian. economy, we see that their relevance. there their their currency and then we. see the annual inflation is out of. control. You think you're upset with 3%. inflation? How about 90? And finally. look at the countries that do trading to. do deals with. Iran. This is the big one. They're. supposed to. President Xi is supposed to come here in. 3 weeks. Will we put pressure on them. and jeopardize that relationship? >> And the only other caveat to that, China. is the third largest holder of our debt.

after the UK and Japan. Now, they only. hold about 630 billion dollars of. treasuries. That's 2% of our debt, but. we need them to buy our debt. But still, I don't think that they would retaliate. in that way, but China is the biggie to. watch given the trade tensions that we. have. >> India, Wilson, we're giving you about a. month to go go go somewhere else for oil. and gas. The president's got a great. relationship with Modi. He has a great. relationship with Erdogan, but they have. not broken up their trade deals. And. also, when it comes to Pakistan, they. actually did a deal with Iran a few.

weeks ago. And they want to be a. mediator. >> How much does this pressure. and pressure from the UAE start to turn. these things around? That'll something. we'll be watching in the next couple. months. >> And the president says he's got a great. relationship with Qatar. Time to call. those guys out. >> I agree. >> All right, thanks so much. By the way, be sure to catch Taylor. on the big money show coming up on Fox. Business. It goes for 2 hours. Am I. right, Taylor? All right. >> The US announcing Operation Economic. Outcast. The goal here to isolate Iran.

by economically choking it off from the. rest of the world. The Trump. administration unveiling dozens of new. sweeping sanctions and warning other. countries and companies against doing. business with the regime. Just moments. ago, President Trump saying to Iran is. already feeling the squeeze. Posting, quote, the failing Islamic Republic of. Iran is not paying large segments of. their military, while at the same time. killing protesters, even when they're. not protesting at levels not seen. before. It is a humanitarian crisis of.

epic proportions and must be stopped. now. Joining us now to talk about this, Jonathan Schanzer, the executive. director at the Foundation for Defense. of Democracies and a former US Treasury. terrorism finance analyst. Jonathan, good morning to you. Thank you for. joining us today. So, the goal with this. is to cut off basically every single. source of revenue for Iran. And other. countries are starting to get on board. with this. We just saw over the weekend. the UAE announced they're suspending all. trade with Iran. We're talking about $6. billion worth. Do you see that as a game.

changer? >> It is huge. I mean, first let me just. say I think the regime is already in bad. shape and I think we can see that. because the currency is now at 2 million. to the dollar and you just get a sense. that we've done a huge amount of work. voiding out I mean, 40% of their GDP. through some of the strikes. Now we're. looking at the additional pressure being. heaped on by Secretary Bevin, Donald. Trump, and the rest of the Trump. administration. And I got to say the UAE. looks like it is a pivotal place to.

start. This is a country that despite. the fact that it's normalized with. Israel, despite the fact that it is a. close ally of the United States, they. have allowed Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah. I mean, we see assets of. the Iranian regime parked over there in. the Persian Gulf. And this is the way. that the regime has been accessing the. US-led banking system. You cut that off. and you get a sense that the regime is. going to be in really bad shape. It's.

not the only place where they do. business, but it's a convenient place. and it actually amounts to real money. This could be a game changer. >> Yeah, Iran's economy has been getting. absolutely crushed. Their inflation rate. right now estimated to be at about 66%. You mentioned the Iranian rial, the. value of which is just plummeting. 2 million Iranian rials for every single. US dollar. And then take a look at this. chart right here going back to early. 2025. This is how that Iranian rial's.

value has fallen off a cliff since the. start of last year and continuing. through the war with Iran. Just give us. your reaction to looking at that. I. mean, even after the MOU fell apart, you. see it nose dive even further. >> Yeah, Abby, look, what what I think this. all points to is that the fundamentals. of the Iranian economy have been in. shambles for quite some time. I mean, before the war, it was in bad shape. Now, it's even worse thanks to the. pressure that the Trump administration.

has been heaping on. In some ways, this. is just a race of two different. timelines, right? The Iranians think. that they can outwait Donald Trump, that. they think that maybe the you know, the. drop in munitions, the spike in the. price of oil, the pressure from the. midterms that that's going to squeeze. the president and perhaps get him to. capitulate or make a bad deal. And now. what we're seeing is that maybe it's. actually a different timeline. It's the. timeline through which the Iranian. regime collapses economically and maybe.

even politically as well. Look, at the. end of the day, I know that the Trump. administration doesn't like to talk. about regime change, but I got to say if. we continue to heap this pressure on and. to isolate this regime, it's actually. quite possible that it does collapse and. if you ask me, that would not be the. worst thing. >> China gets a whole lot of crude oil from. Iran and yesterday Treasury Secretary. Scott Bessent was asked directly, um, is China above these sanctions? What. are you going to do if they violate it? Here's what he said. >> Is the very delicate trade truce with.

China something that that could prohibit. you from, you know, going that far and. taking that very big step? >> we want to make clear to here today that. no one is above the reach of US. sanctions. That if they facilitate transactions and. are part of the ecosystem that turns. Iranian oil. into money, into repression, they will be targeted.

>> Jonathan, got about 30 seconds left. here. Your thoughts on that answer? He. essentially says China will be. retaliated against if they don't play. ball here. >> Look, we've already seen a handful of. entities in both mainland China and Hong. Kong that got hit with sanctions. yesterday. I'd like to see some small. banks, then medium-size, then large. banks if the Chinese don't comply. We've. got a summit coming up, high drama. there, and I hope Donald Trump sticks to. his guns. >> All right, got to leave it there. Jonathan Schanzer, thanks so much for. coming on this morning. Appreciate your.

thoughts. >> Thank you, Todd. >> Ashleigh. >> Now to the Middle East, the Trump. administration is preparing to unveil. what they're calling the economic. asphyxiation of the Iranian regime. through a new wave of secondary. sanctions. >> Chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst. joins us live from Tel Aviv with the. details. Trey. >> Yeah, hey guys, good morning. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. announced Operation Economic Outcast, a. US effort to isolate the Iranian regime. >> The actions of Treasury and other.

agencies will tighten the noose and. block every potential source of revenue. that funds the IRGC and the evil Iranian. regime. And let me be clear, any entity. that facilitates money laundering on. behalf of Iran. will be removed from the US dollar. system. The clock just started ticking. >> Among the new sanctions includes an. expanded list of secondary sanctions. targeting digital assets, technology,

gold, aviation, and shipping. In. addition, the Treasury Department. sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple. jurisdictions. The actions go after what. the department describes as a network of. shadow fleet vessels operating across. many different countries. Iranian. officials threatened retaliation to the. economic measures with the country's. foreign ministry spokesperson saying. this. >> Any complicity with the United States in. carrying out its aggressive actions. against Iran will certainly have.

consequences. Even now, the naval blockade of Iran. amounts to an act of aggression. Any escalation of this situation will. undoubtedly bring about consequences of. its own. >> Early this morning, another tanker was. struck in the Strait of Hormuz with an. unknown projectile while transiting the. US approved southern route. The vessel. had damage caused to its engine room and. was disabled. Secretary of War Pete. Hegseth warned Iran against taking. further provocative action on Monday. We're also tracking a number of other.

developments in the region, including a. decision by the United States to remove. Syria from a state-sponsored list of. terrorism. Syrian President Bashar. al-Assad responded said his country is. focused on rebuilding and redevelopment. Guys, >> Okay, Trey Yingst live for us. Thank. you, Trey. And we're going to bring in former NSC. Chief of Staff under President Trump, Alex Gray. Alex, thanks for coming on to. talk about this. So, basically what the. administration's plan is is to bring. Iran to its knees both economically um.

as well as with, you know, threatening. military strikes. Is this going to be. enough to get Iran to just lay down and. say, "Okay, enough is enough?". >> Well, I think it's actually going to be. a really significant piece of finally. forcing the Iranian regime to recognize. reality. And the reality is uh that they. have limited cards to play. They've. pushed their people to the brink of. collapse and there's really not much. more that they can do realistically to. counter the United States. What.

President Trump has understood here, uh. and he has a very sophisticated. understanding of history, is that the. United States consistently wins wars. when we use not just our battlefield. capabilities, we use our economic. prowess as well. We did it in the Civil. War, we did it in World War II, we did. it in the Cold War, and we're going to. use our market power, the fact that. everyone in the world wants access to US. banks, US currency, US commodities. imports, they want access to the United. States, and that is an ultimate tool we.

have to compel Iran to finally recognize. the reality of their situation. >> Right. And I I I keep bringing this up. because I think it's a very important. thing to bring up, but you have the. complete other issue of who in the world. is even in charge in Tehran, and who is. making these decisions? I've said this countless times. I know a. lot of people have, and that is. obviously an issue that. people are honing in on, but my question. is how could this affect the world. economy? Obviously, we have to we have.

to end this war. This has to stop. It has to stop. But is this going to affect the US in. any way, shape, or form? >> Well, I agree with you completely, and I. think the president, as much as anyone, wants to bring this war to a conclusion. He's accomplished most of his. objectives, and using our overwhelming. economic power is a great way, and a. historically sound way, to bring it to a. conclusion. I think the way that this is. going to play out from an economic. perspective on Americans and on the. United States, really more has to do with how our.

trading partners, and how countries like. China and India and others are going to. react. And ultimately, you know, we've. heard a lot of speculation. Will the. Chinese follow through on this? Will. they actually listen to what the. president and Secretary Bessenter are. saying? The Chinese government's not. going to actually stand up and say, "We're going to comply with this." But. individual Chinese companies are going. to make a very clear decision. They're. going to decide, "Do you want to be with. the Iranians, a collapsing, decrepit.

regime that offers nothing, or do you. want to maintain access to the United. States market, to the dollar, to the US. financial system?" And I think, besides. all the the rhetoric and the posturing, companies all over the world, including. Chinese ones, are going to make a very. clear decision here. >> Yeah, China might be our adversary, but. money is always top of mind for them and. you cannot forget that. Alex Gray, thank. you so much for your time. I appreciate. it. >> Be sure to like and subscribe for all. the Fox News latest on YouTube and catch.

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