Bessent Warns Iran Economy Could Collapse Within Months as US Hits 5 Sectors
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 31
Bessent Warns Iran Economy Could Collapse Within Months as US Hits 5 Sectors
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 31
Summary
Scott Bessent said Iran’s economy could collapse “within weeks or months,” arguing the latest US sanctions are meant to force Tehran back to negotiations.
Five sectors—aviation, digital assets, gold, technology and shipping—were targeted last week, alongside sanctions on 60 individuals and vessels under Washington’s “Operation Economic Outcast.”
Bessent said new measures will likely come weekly and could escalate from penalizing banks to cutting an institution off entirely from the dollar-based financial system.
The European Commission said it supports added economic pressure if it pushes Iran toward good-faith peace talks, giving Bessent what he called “fulsome support” from trading partners.
Six months into the US-Israel conflict with Iran, the pressure campaign is also rippling through markets and inflation: energy prices rose 14.7% in July while gold fell 0.8% and major US indexes slipped.