Scott Bessent Vows to ‘Asphyxiate’ Iran With Sanctions Targeting IRGC Bank Accounts and Luxury Homes

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed Tuesday to economically “asphyxiate” Iran, revealing that the Trump administration is tracking offshore bank accounts, luxury properties and other assets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian regime elites.

Speaking ahead of G20 finance meetings in Asheville, North Carolina, Bessent said the administration intends to freeze assets around the world as part of its escalating campaign to force Tehran back to the negotiating table.

“We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime,” Bessent said, arguing that his job is to create enough financial pressure that Iranian leaders ultimately decide they have no choice but to reach an agreement with President Donald Trump.

Bessent specifically warned that American officials know where IRGC-linked money is being held, including accounts associated with trust companies in the British Virgin Islands.

The Treasury secretary also threatened to seize or freeze extravagant real estate holdings connected to Iranian elites, referring to “$100 million houses” held around the world.

The administration believes some of those assets have been accumulated while ordinary Iranians struggle economically. Treasury has already targeted networks it accuses of moving and concealing wealth on behalf of senior Iranian officials.

Bessent said Washington intends to work with allies and other international partners to shut down those financial networks and prevent regime officials from accessing their overseas wealth.

The campaign is part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” the Trump administration’s effort to isolate Iran from the global financial system and dramatically increase the economic consequences of Tehran’s actions.

Bessent indicated that the administration is likely to announce sanctions against an Iranian bank this week, with additional sanctions expected as early as next week.

The strategy could also involve secondary sanctions against foreign banks, businesses and other institutions that continue conducting prohibited transactions with Iran.

Those penalties could carry enormous consequences because institutions targeted by Washington risk losing access to the U.S. dollar-based financial system.

Bessent has argued that America’s control over access to the dollar gives the administration one of its most powerful weapons against Tehran. Rather than relying exclusively on military action, Washington hopes to make continued confrontation economically unbearable for Iran’s leadership.

The Treasury secretary used a vivid analogy to describe the Iranian government’s current position, comparing it to a poisonous snake that continues moving after its head has already been severed.

“We are burying the head of the Iranian snake,” Bessent said. “The snake doesn’t know it’s dead yet, but it will stop wiggling when the sun goes down.”

The administration believes the financial campaign will eventually produce one of two outcomes: either Iran’s government will face an increasingly severe economic crisis or its leaders will return to negotiations and agree to Trump’s demands.

Bessent has pointed to the administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuela as evidence that aggressive sanctions can weaken hostile governments, though similar long-term sanctions against regimes in countries such as Cuba and Iraq historically produced mixed results.

The economic offensive is unfolding alongside renewed military action in the region and American efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping.

Bessent’s message to Tehran is that the pressure will not be limited to Iranian territory. The administration intends to pursue the regime’s money wherever it is hidden — from offshore accounts to luxury real estate — until Iran agrees to negotiate.