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Speaking from the White House, Bessent said Iran's currency has collapsed so dramatically that "you can be arrested for printing the level of the currency," with the rial possibly pushing through three million to the dollar. The Treasury chief said internal U.S. estimates show Iran's economy may contract by as much as 25 percent from March to March — a decline greater than what Russia suffered in the three years after the Iron Curtain fell.
"For the three years after the Iron Curtain came down, the Russian economy contracted 22 [percent]," Bessent said. "So in one year it would do what happened in 22 years."
Iran's Power Centers Now Feeling the Squeeze
Bessent described three pillars propping up the Iranian regime: elected politicians, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Supreme Leader's religious authority. He said the economic pressure is now rattling all of them.
"In the summer, the elected officials started worrying out loud about the economy," Bessent said. "Now publicly and privately the IRGC is very concerned. They're talking about collapse."
He warned that desperation inside the IRGC could make its members more dangerous, comparing them to rats in a sewer pipe who fear for their lives and are bunkering down. But he said the real damage is being done to Iran's ability to project power.
Proxies Cut Off at the Tip of the Spear
"They're not able to pay their troops," Bessent said. "Importantly, they're not able to get dollars. So they're not able to replenish."
That funding collapse is now hitting Iran's proxies across the Middle East. Bessent said the Houthis, Hamas, and Hezbollah are all seeing their money cut off.
"Their funding is being cut off and that's going to the tip of the spear when that money starts going down," he said.
