Iran’s economy is facing high inflation and other challenges, partly due to US sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, underscoring Washington’s concerns about Tehran cracking down violently on anti-regime protests.
“The Iranian economy is on the ropes,” Bessent tells the Economic Club of Minnesota, underscoring President Donald Trump’s warning to Tehran to avoid harming protesters.
“It’s a very precarious moment. He does not want them to harm more of the protesters. This is a tense moment,” the US Treasury secretary says, referring to Trump’s threat on Sunday to hit Tehran if it began killing protesters.
Bessent says it is clear that “what had been an affluent society that still maintained a high standard of living is really crumbling, and a lot of that is through the sanctions.”
He says it is unclear how Tehran planned to finance the rebuilding of its nuclear program.
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