US Treasury secretary Bessent vows to 'make Iran broke again'

The United States aims to push Iran's economy off the cliff with more sanctions on Iranian oil, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, laying out President Donald Trump's renewed maximum pressure campaign.

"Making Iran broke again will mark the beginning of our updated sanctions policy," Bessent told members of the Economic Club of New York, highlighting the impact of US sanctions on the nation's currency.

The Iranian rial has lost half of its value in less than six months, partly because of Tehran's regional setbacks and partly due to harsh sanctions rolled out under Trump.

The President has begun an "aggressive campaign to rebalance the international economic system," Bessent added.

The so-called maximum pressure policy on Iran was introduced in Trump's first administration and renewed immediately after he returned to the White House in January.

The policy involves more sanctions and stricter enforcement on Iran's oil exports.

The Trump administration is considering a plan to inspect Iranian oil tankers under an international accord designed to curb the spread of weapons of mass destruction, Reuters reported earlier on Thursday.

The administration is exploring ways for allied countries to stop and inspect vessels in key maritime chokepoints, including the Malacca Strait in Asia, according to the agency citing six sources familiar with the matter.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, addressing parliament on Sunday, acknowledged Trump’s latest sanctions, saying Iran’s tankers now face uncertainty in unloading their cargo.

Iran's oil exports have fluctuated dramatically in recent years, depending largely on Washington's will to enforce sanctions and Tehran's ability to find new ways to get its oil to its main customer, China.

In 2017, before US sanctions were imposed, Iran exported 2.5 million barrels per day. By 2020, this figure had plummeted to around 350,000 bpd.

As Joe Biden took office in 2021, Iran’s oil exports rebounded, peaking at nearly 1.9 million bpd in the summer of 2024. After President Biden administration’s imposed sanctions on dozens of tankers involved in smuggling Iranian oil, exports dropped by 500,000 bpd in the final quarter of 2024.