Bessent says Trump's 'economic fury' is 'suffocating' Iranian regime
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discusses President Donald Trump's economic pressure on Iran, U.S. efforts to secure critical industries amid AI boom and more on 'Sunday Morning Futures.'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday the U.S. is "suffocating" Iran’s regime using escalating financial pressure, frozen assets and a naval blockade, while predicting that oil prices could fall as more non-Iranian supply reaches the market.
Bessent said President Donald Trump ordered the Treasury to implement "economic fury" upon Iran. The U.S. is closely monitoring Iranian financial networks, offshore assets and any attempts to move money into the country to aid the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said some Gulf states "have been very fulsome and come forward and given us the details and allowed us to freeze [Iran's] assets" after the regime its Gulf neighbors. (Matt Rourke/AP)
BESSENT SAYS ‘MORE AND MORE’ SHIPS MOVING THROUGH STRAIT OF HORMUZ, COULD EASE OIL PRICE PRESSURE
"The way to think about that [economic fury] — we were running a marathon over the past 12 months, and now we are sprinting towards the finish line… We are suffocating the regime, and they are not able to pay their soldiers," he said on "Sunday Morning Futures."
An oil tanker waits in a queue to be loaded with barrels of oil in the Persian Gulf near southern Iran, a region with numerous Iranian and Arab oil and gas suppliers. (Farzad Frames/Getty Images)
Bessent said the U.S. had "all hands on deck," blockading Iran in a very literal sense with the Navy and economically by cracking down on the IRGC, which he called a "corrupt institution."
"They've been stealing from the Iranian people for years. They have money offshore. We've tracked that down. We will continue to track that down, and we're going to preserve those assets for the Iranian people on the other side of this conflict."
SCOTT BESSENT CALLS OUT 'TERRIBLE FRAMING' DURING CLASH WITH NBC NEWS HOST ON IRANIAN OIL
Iran’s oil infrastructure is deteriorating, he added. Storage is rapidly filling, and the regime may have to begin shutting in wells "in the next week."
He predicted this would lead to lower oil prices, pointing to the futures market, which shows that "oil prices are already lower three months, six months, nine months out," and claiming that there are "hundreds of oil tankers waiting in the Gulf to come out."
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Some Gulf states also assisted the U.S. in tracking down Iranian financial assets after the regime bombed their neighbors, a move Bessent described as a significant miscalculation.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.
