Washington, DC – The US representative to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, asserted that the fierce economic campaign waged by the US Treasury Department against Tehran is succeeding in crippling the Iranian economy like never before. He also noted that Iranian negotiators are now focusing entirely on the issue of cash during the negotiation rounds.
Fiery statements regarding the priorities of the Iranian leadership
In a television interview on Fox News Sunday evening, Waltz quipped, with a hint of irony, “I’m saying this jokingly, but seriously, the Iranians are more afraid of Bassnett than Hegsett right now.” He further elaborated on the mindset in Tehran: “When they sit down at the negotiating table with our negotiators, they talk about money, money, money. Because ultimately, they’ll be the ones to suffer the consequences of military strikes.”
The American official emphasized that the Iranian leadership “doesn’t command its military, they don’t care about their soldiers, or even the Iranian people, after they massacred 40,000 of them.” He described the Iranian government as a “corrupt and religiously fanatical elite” that has plundered the country’s resources for decades. Waltz added, “They are demanding access to their funds and assets that we have frozen. This is our real pressure. This, along with the naval blockade, is what will ultimately push the Iranians to act.”
The “economic rage” campaign and the depletion of assets
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is leading a broad campaign, dubbed “economic wrath,” targeting the Iranian regime. Last June, the Treasury Department announced the seizure of nearly $1 billion in Iranian government-owned cryptocurrency assets. Additionally, another digital wallet containing approximately $130 million, directly linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was blocked.
Waltz had previously stated in June that this massive campaign is “what the Iranians fear most because it directly impacts their internal stability.” He added, “Their currency is collapsing, their foreign exchange reserves are depleted, and they can’t even pay a portion of the salaries of the military and government employees. That’s why you see people begging for money.”
Escalation of the “maximum pressure” policy and naval blockade
These developments are an extension of a US strategy that began to take shape in early 2015 when the US president signed National Security Advisory No. 2. This memorandum aimed to resume the “maximum pressure” policy against the Islamic Republic. Simultaneously, more than 600 new economic sanctions were imposed on the government and individuals associated with it.
With the outbreak of clashes in late February and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s attacks on shipping and vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, US policy gradually shifted from mere banking and economic sanctions to a comprehensive naval blockade imposed by the United States on Iranian ports. This tight naval blockade led to a sharp decline in Iranian oil exports. Thus, it dealt a devastating blow to the government’s most important source of foreign currency. According to reports from Windward, the three major shipping terminals on the strategic island of Kharg remained completely empty of tankers for three consecutive weeks. As a result, this deepens the regime’s financial crisis and further tightens its economic noose.
