Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Iranian economy is nearing a breaking point Friday, while announcing that the U.S. has seized roughly $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets.
“We have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto,” he told FOX Business. “Just outright grabbed the wallets.”
Joining “Kudlow” at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent detailed the United States’ economic pressure campaign on Iran, known as “Operation Economic Fury,” which he said has sent the regime into “crisis.”
“I think between five and a half-six weeks of an incredibly successful military campaign and then Operation Economic Fury, where we have really cut them off…they are at the end of their tether now financially,” he said.
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“I think 40 or 50% of the [Iranian] troops aren’t getting paid. Police aren’t reporting to the station. Inflation is probably over 200%. They’re having to give out food vouchers. They have turned off the internet.”
The effort, launched in March 2025, has crippled Tehran’s financial lifelines by seizing Iranian assets, freezing bank accounts and pressuring foreign governments to cut ties with the nation.
“We are working with our allies all over Europe to grab villas and houses and properties,” Bessent explained. “And this is money that’s stolen from the Iranian people.”
Bessent said the Iranian regime was siphoning $400 to $500 million every month and dividing the profits amongst dozens of leaders, before the Treasury Department intervened.
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The Treasury secretary went on to address ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, highlighting the differences between the factions involved in the talks. President Donald Trump held a White House meeting Friday where he said he would make a “final determination” on Iran.
“We did not have regime change, but we changed the regime,” Bessent said. “The first level leaders were decapitated, the second level decapitated. So, we’re dealing with the third level.”
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“And it’s very tough because, on one side, we have a theocracy with the clerics. On the other side, we have a thug autocracy with the IRGC. And you’ve got to convince both sides,” he added.
Bessent also spoke about the “very big” mistake Iran made by attacking countries in the Persian Gulf, which he argued left the regime more vulnerable.
The IRGC has launched drone and missile attacks against all six GCC states.
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“They made my job so much easier because before, many of our great GCC Gulf allies were a little less than transparent about their banking system, that, ‘Oh no, we don’t have any Iranian oil,’” Bessent said.
The Treasury secretary added that after the Iranian strikes, GCC states were more open to disclosing ties to Iranian-supplied oil.
Bessent also said that young U.S. service members enjoy enforcing the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.
“They’ve done an incredible job,” he told FOX Business. “When I talked to General Caine and Secretary Hegseth, they said, ‘Look, these young people aren’t afraid. They want to fight… This is what they signed up for.’”
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