The European Union formally endorsed Washington’s Operation Economic Outcast on Aug. 31, aligning the 27-member bloc with the Trump administration’s campaign to sever Iran’s access to the global financial system. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States and its allies would target Iran’s digital assets, advanced technology, gold reserves, commercial aviation and shipping, while warning countries that aid Tehran could face secondary sanctions (penalties imposed on third parties). The move came as G20 finance ministers and central bank governors met in Asheville, North Carolina. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei condemned the decision as U.S.-driven economic coercion. The financial campaign is unfolding alongside U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets, Iranian missile attacks on U.S. bases and a blockade affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said American forces had redirected 87 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two. Iranian crude loadings have fallen to about 260,000 barrels per day from roughly 1.7 million a year earlier, while the rial, inflation, unemployment, wages and fuel supplies have deteriorated. The United Arab Emirates suspended commercial and financial dealings with Iran on Aug. 19, and Bessent cited sanctions against Dubai branches of an Egyptian bank that he said transferred more than $1.8 billion to Iran since 2025. Analysts and Iranian officials described the pressure as unprecedented, with Washington betting that economic deterioration will fuel unrest and Tehran hoping higher oil prices and inflation will pressure the Trump administration before November’s U.S. midterm elections. China remains a key uncertainty because it previously bought about 90% of Iran’s sanctioned crude exports. The EU’s backing adds broad Western support to Washington’s isolation strategy while preserving the bloc’s separate sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and military support for Russia.