WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is taking steps to limit an Egyptian bank's operations in the United Arab Emirates, accusing the financial institution of serving as an economic lifeline to Tehran's leadership as the U.S. war against Iran reaches the six-month mark. Under a new rule proposed Friday by the Treasury Department, the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, would be severed from access to the U.S. financial system. It follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's announcement this week of a new campaign to push countries that still do business with the already heavily sanctioned Islamic Republic to sever their financial ties or face retaliation from the United States. In stopping short of imposing sanctions on the Egyptian bank, the move signals the Republican administration's reluctance to penalize major trading partners that do business with Iran, including China and India. Bessent told reporters on Monday that he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late in a bid to avoid upending the global financia