Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Tuesday a plan to "economically asphyxiate" the Iranian government through intensified sanctions, aiming to force Tehran to agree to a peace deal.
Bessent detailed efforts to seize offshore bank accounts and luxury properties owned by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Speaking at a discussion moderated by economist Larry Kudlow ahead of G20 finance ministers meetings, Bessent specified targeting assets in the British Virgin Islands and high-value real estate, such as what he referred to as "$100 million houses."
"My job is to make sure that they want to have a deal, and they will want to have one," Bessent stated.
The Treasury Department recently launched "Operation Economic Outcast" to further isolate Iran, complementing a U.S. Navy blockade reimposed by President Trump in July. Bessent indicated that the U.S. is aware of the locations of IRGC accounts held by trust companies in the British Virgin Islands. "We know the $100 million houses you have around the world. We are going to freeze those. We are going to our partners. We are going to close all that down," he said.
Bessent employed a metaphor to describe the situation, comparing the Iranian government to a poisonous snake whose head has been severed but whose body continues to move. He likened the U.S. strategy to burying the snake's head to neutralize its venom, suggesting the regime may not yet recognize its debilitated state.
Last week, Bessent predicted that the sanctions would either lead to the collapse of the Iranian regime or compel it back to negotiations. The Trump administration has previously attributed the weakening of the Venezuelan government to sanctions prior to a military operation that ousted President Nicolas Maduro. However, the effectiveness of long-term sanctions in dislodging authoritarian leaders has been mixed, with examples such as Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Castro brothers in Cuba.