Bessent says Iran’s economy could collapse within weeks or months, even without China’s help

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s economy could collapse “within weeks or months” as Washington intensifies its sanctions campaign, though he added that an economic collapse is not the only objective.

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within weeks or months

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, Bessent said the pressure was designed to make Iran’s leadership return to negotiations. “The economy does not necessarily have to collapse. The Iranian regime needs to come to its senses,” he said.

Bessent also linked Iran’s recent military attacks to the impact of the economic pressure. “I think they are acting aggressively militarily because they are losing economically,” he said. In a CNBC interview, he argued that the U.S. “Operation Economic Outcast” and blockade would eventually push Tehran toward talks.

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The economy does not necessarily have to collapse. The Iranian regime needs to come to its senses

He pointed to a sharp fall in Iran’s currency, rising prices and public complaints from elected officials as signs of mounting strain. Washington plans to tighten the pressure further. The Treasury Department recently sanctioned 60 individuals, vessels and other targets across Iran’s aviation, digital assets, gold, technology and shipping sectors. It also cut branches of Egypt’s state-owned Banque Misr in the United Arab Emirates off from the U.S. financial system over alleged links to financial transactions with Iran.

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I think they are acting aggressively militarily because they are losing economically

China remains a central question because it is Iran’s biggest buyer of crude oil. Bessent called the idea that sanctions cannot work without Beijing’s help “a false narrative.” He said only 30 million barrels of Iranian oil remained at sea under the blockade and that even payments from China would eventually run out. He said the United States and China share opposition to an Iranian nuclear weapon and support free and fair shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but declined to rule out sanctions on Chinese oil buyers, refiners or financial institutions.

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a false narrative