Could Iran’s regime collapse? Experts assess Bessent’s bid to sever financial lifelines
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Monday announcement that America will impose the economic equivalent of the military campaign that defeated Nazi Germany on the Islamic Republic of Iran could set off a series of events leading to the dissolution of the nearly 47-year-old dictatorship in Tehran, according to Iran experts.
Bessent’s declaration of economic warfare follows President Donald Trump’s commitment last week to launch an “economic D-Day” against the Tehran regime. The comprehensive U.S. economic pressure point campaign targeting Iran’s already troubled economy could have dramatic effects on the restive population in the country of over 90 million people.
“In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” said Bessent. He added that “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone. Iran’s fanatics devote themselves to death to America and seek nuclear weapons to do just that. They have murdered and maimed more of our citizens and service members than any other terrorist regime on Earth.”
Just hours before Bessent spoke, Iran’s currency, the rial, plunged to an all-time low. The rial fell to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar. Iranians are struggling to afford basic goods.
Jonathan Harounoff, an Iran expert and British author of Persian heritage, told Fox News Digital that “Ultimately, this pressure campaign will likely continue to cripple the regime and set the stage for perhaps yet another domestic uprising. The precise timing of such a revolt is impossible to predict.”
Harounoff, who has written extensively on upheavals in Iran against the clerical leadership, added, “What isn’t impossible to predict is that the regime is governing brutishly over a repressed population that has endured sustained economic and social immiseration. It’s only a matter of time before more protests break out, and the real question is whether international organizations like the U.N. and Western governments will choose to stand by — or tangibly support the Iranian people and actively sever any cooperation they maintain with the regime.”
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal.
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