Treasury Secretary Warns US to Bankrupt Iran in ‘Updated Sanctions’ Policy [Video]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at a major shift in policy towards Iran, saying the Trump administration aims to make the Mideast nation “broke.”

Newsweek reached out to the State Department and the Treasury via email for comment.

Why It Matters

During his first administration, President Donald Trump took a hardline approach to Iran. He has remained a persistent critic of former President Joe Biden‘s Iran policy.

Trump campaigned on aggressive financial reform across the government and using economic pressures and policies abroad to transform American foreign policy. He already has enacted and retracted tariffs against Colombia, Canada and Mexico and applied tariffs to Chinese products.

The administration—and Bessent, in particular—has argued about economic security guarantees instead of military security guarantees. Bessent met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to champion this concept.