Treasury Secretary Warns US to Bankrupt Iran in 'Updated Sanctions' Policy

By Peter Aitken

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at a major shift in policy towards Iran, saying the Trump administration aims to make the Mideast nation "broke."

Newsweek reached out to the State Department and the Treasury via email for comment.

Why It Matters

During his first administration, President Donald Trump took a hardline approach to Iran. He has remained a persistent critic of former President Joe Biden's Iran policy.

Trump campaigned on aggressive financial reform across the government and using economic pressures and policies abroad to transform American foreign policy. He already has enacted and retracted tariffs against Colombia, Canada and Mexico and applied tariffs to Chinese products.

The administration—and Bessent, in particular—has argued about economic security guarantees instead of military security guarantees. Bessent met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to champion this concept.

What To Know

Bessent spoke at the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, first in a fireside chat with Fox Business host and former director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, then taking questions from members.

During the exchange, Bessent addressed some foreign policy, touching on tariffs but also adding a nugget about Iran: "If I were an Iranian, I would get all my money out of the rial now."

"Making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy," he added. "Watch this space. If economic security is national security, the regime in Tehran will have neither."

Trump enacted a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran during his first administration, applying sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating sanctions that helped drive down Iran's oil exports to near zero.

However, Bessent warned that overreliance on sanctions could also prove detrimental, saying, "President Trump expressed his view that overuse of sanctions could affect the U.S. dollar's supremacy."

"I couldn't agree more and would add that not unlike the overuse of antibiotics, the target becomes immune and mutates. Lackadaisical sanctions simply create new markets which then must be sanctioned and so on," Bessent added.

Biden saw this firsthand as Iran's exports increased year over year, thanks to China ignoring sanctions and aiding Iran as it built a trading system using the Chinese yuan and a network of middlemen, avoiding exposure.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) speaks with Larry Kudlow at the Economic Club of New York on March 6, 2025. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What People Are Saying

Republican South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, on X, formerly Twitter: "Grateful that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has stated that the USA will collapse Iran's economy by shutting down its oil industry. Can't happen soon enough!"

Republican Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton earlier this week: "We need to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons, and we must be ready to act if necessary."

What Happens Next

Bessent did not clarify how the Trump administration would seek to hit Iran, but Trump has already rolled out sanctions against several nations. The administration is operating in the Middle East as it seeks to achieve several foreign policy goals.