MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Trump administration's economic offensive to isolate Iran needs support from around the world. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday warned countries he says are helping Iran evade sanctions. But it's unclear how far the White House is prepared to go to punish governments still doing business with Iran.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
NPR International correspondent Aya Batrawy is in Dubai covering the latest round of U.S. sanctions. Good morning, Aya.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: OK. The United Arab Emirates, where you are, was among the first to announce last week it was cutting off commercial and trade ties with Iran. Are other countries joining Trump's economic pressure campaign?
BATRAWY: So reactions from other Gulf allies have so far been muted. You know, some already only had dismal trade ties with Iran before this war, whereas the UAE was among Iran's top international trade partners, according to data by the World Trade Organization. And the U.S. needs more countries to fall in line with these measures because while U.S. sanctions have crippled Iran's economy, Trump wants to crush, not just cripple, its revenue in order to force a change.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Trump's been phoning world leaders to join him in isolating Iran, and he didn't name which leaders Trump called, but listed some of the ways that countries operate in what he calls the gray zone.
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SCOTT BESSENT: Iran's enablers purchase, transport its petroleum. They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones. They welcome Iran's flights and maintain registries on its behalf. They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and overland transits.
FADEL: Aya, listening to Bessent's words there, what stands out to you?
BATRAWY: Well, what stands out isn't just that he called out the purchase of Iranian oil, Leila, but also welcoming flights from Iran and overland transits. And if we look at flights, there are still flights as of today on Iran Air to Dubai, connecting Iranians to the biggest airport in the world for international transit. And I checked flights on Iran's Mahan Air as well this morning, and it's flying to neighboring Oman, as well as Turkey, Russia, China, even the tropical Thai holiday destination of Phuket.
And as for overland transits, Pakistan, which has emerged as the lead mediator between Washington and Tehran in this war, has plans to expand annual bilateral trade with Iran by more than threefold to $10 billion annually. During this war, Pakistan also opened more land routes for non-sanctioned goods from other countries to enter Iran. The most consequential country here is China, which is the biggest importer and buyer of Iranian oil.
China's foreign ministry today slammed the White House's latest measures against Iran, calling them, quote, "illicit unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law." China says economic wars only escalate the conflict and disrupt global financial order and says it isn't going to cut off Iran. China has had to dig into its oil reserves to weather the fallout from this war as the biggest buyer of both Iranian and Saudi oil.
FADEL: And what have we heard from the Iranian government? Has there been a reaction?
BATRAWY: Sure. I mean, last night, Iran's economy minister Ali Madanizadeh brushed aside the White House's economic D-Day.
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ALI MADANIZADEH: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: So that's him on state TV saying Iran's been planning this for a long time and is ready with a two-year plan to manage the fallout. And Iranian politicians, Leila, are casting this new economic offensive by Washington as evidence that the U.S. military offensive failed to cower Iran. But I will say here, Iran's central bank chief did hint last week that the economic situation now is harder than it has been in decades, with both oil revenues and taxes being affected.
FADEL: That's NPR's Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thank you for your reporting.
BATRAWY: Thanks, Leila. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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