Tehran's nightmare: The man trying to bankrupt the Iranian regime

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading the economic campaign against Iran through extensive sanctions on aviation, oil, railways, and the financial system. The Trump administration hopes that severe economic pressure will bring a breaking point within months and renew public protests against the regime.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 64, from South Carolina, is leading one of the most significant fronts in the economic campaign against the Iranian regime. Bessent, who is not particularly well-known to the Israeli public but is considered one of the most powerful figures in President Trump's circle, operates primarily through the American sanctions system. On August 24, he announced Operation "Economic Outcast" against Iran, under which sanctions were expanded on the Iranian railway company, local car manufacturers, and Iran's airlines. Sanctions on Iranian oil exports were also expanded across the entire supply chain. American teams were sent to countries maintaining economic ties with Iran to clarify the consequences of continued cooperation. According to assessments within the U.S. administration, the measures are causing Iran losses of hundreds of millions of dollars daily, and the Iranian currency has plunged to an unusual low of about 2.7 million rials to the dollar. Within Iran, reports are multiplying of severe economic hardships, shortages of basic goods and medicines, queues at gas stations, acute inflation, and the expansion of the black market. The assessment is that continued damage to the Iranian economy could bring a breaking point within months, leading to widespread public protest against the regime. Within the Trump administration, there is a dispute between supporters of continuing the military campaign and those who prefer to avoid further escalation, and Bessent leads the line that the regime can be weakened through severe and sustained economic pressure.