Scott Bessent Again Boasts That U.S. Sanctions Crashed The Iranian Economy And Led To Riots.

Scott Bessent Continued To Say The Quiet Part Out Loud About U.S. Sanctions On Iran.

Scott Bessent , the U.S. Treasury Secretary, yet again boasted that U.S. sanctions on Iran caused the economy to collapse and led to the initial protests that were co-opted by U.S. and Israeli intelligence in an attempt to force regime change.

When asked about Iran at a recent hearing by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Bessent boasted:

What we can do at treasury, and what we have done, is created a dollar shortage in the country, at a speech at the Ecenomic club in New York in March I outlined the strategy, it came to a swift -and I would say grand- culmination in December when one of the largest banks in Iran went under, there was a run in the bank, the central bank had to print money, the Iranian currency went into freefall, inflation exploded and hence we have seen the Iranian people out on the street.

By his own admission, because of U.S. sanctions on Iran, “one of the largest banks in Iran went under, there was a run in the bank, the central bank had to print money, the Iranian currency went into freefall, inflation exploded” which is the reason why “we have seen the Iranian people out on the street”.

Bessent made a similar admission recently at the World Economic Forum, where he admitted:

If you look at a speech I gave at the economic club of New York last March, I said that I believe the Iranian currency was on the verge of collapse, that if I were an Iranain citizen, I would take my money out.

President Trump ordered treasury and our OFAC division, (Office of Foreign Asset Control) to put maximum pressure on Iran, and it’s worked because in December, their economy collapsed, we saw a major bank go under, the central bank has started to print money, there is a dollar shortage, they are not able to get imports and this is why the people took to the streets.

This is economic statecraft, no shots fired, and things are moving in a very positive way here

At his March speech at the Economic Club in New York, which Bessent referenced in both testimonies, he boasted:

Last month, the White House announced its maximum pressure campaign on Iran designed to collapse its already buckling economy. The Iranian economy is in disarray; 35% official inflation, has a currency that has depreciated 60% in the last 12 months, and an ongoing energy crisis. I know a few things about currency devaluations, and if I were an Iranian, I would get all of my money out of the Rial now.

This precarious state exists before our Maximum Pressure campaign, designed to collapse Iranian oil exports from the current 1.5-1.6, million barrels per day, back to the trickle they were when President Trump left office.

Iran has developed a complex shadow network of financial facilitators and black-market oil shippers via a ghost fleet to sell oil, petrochemical and other commodities to finance its exports and generate hard currency.

As such, we have elevated a sanctions campaign against this export infrastructure, targeting all stages of Iran’s oil supply chain. We have coupled this with vigorous government engagement and private sector outreach.

We will close off Iran’s access to the international financial system by targeting regional parties that facilitate the transfer of its revenues. Treasury is prepared to engage in frank discussions with these countries. We are going to shut down Iran’s oil sector and drone manufacturing capabilities.

We have predetermined benchmarks and timelines. Making Iran Broke Again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy. Watch this space. If economic security is national security, the regime in Tehran will have neither.

By his own admission, the protests in Iran sparked by worsening economic conditions in were the intended effect of U.S. sanctions on Iran, designed to make life miserable for average Iranians in hopes it will lead to regime change.

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