The American body that can disconnect the world at the push of a button | Weekend Special

The article reviews the power of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Treasury Department, which specializes in imposing economic sanctions. It explains how the dominance of the dollar and the mechanism of secondary sanctions allow OFAC to disconnect countries and entities from the global financial system. The article focuses on Iran as a central target, and analyzes the impact of sanctions on its economy and the responses of Russia, China, and Israel.

The article reviews the immense power of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the U.S. Treasury Department, which specializes in imposing economic sanctions. It explains that while the immediate thought of American power is military, in the last decade Washington has been perfecting a weapon no less lethal: economic sanctions. Two factors give OFAC its strength: the dominance of the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency, and the mechanism of secondary sanctions that forces international banks and companies to choose between access to the American market and business with Iran. The article focuses on Iran as a central target, detailing how sanctions on oil exports and access to the banking system have severely damaged its economy, led to a devaluation of the rial, and accelerated inflation. It further states that OFAC works to paralyze the financing networks of the Revolutionary Guards, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Shia militias. In response, Russia and China are working to establish systems that bypass the dollar, while China plays a double game of purchasing Iranian oil while avoiding entanglement with OFAC. For Israel, the article presents OFAC as a strategic force multiplier, combining Israeli intelligence with American enforcement.