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US Treasury Freezes Regime Funds As Scott Bessent Signals Growing Internal Collapse in Iran

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  March 19, 2026 12:00 PM

Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the U.S. Treasury is actively identifying and freezing bank accounts tied to Iran’s regime leadership, a move aimed at increasing internal pressure and encouraging defections from within the government.

"You know, for the regime, we’re back to the stuff of Baghdad Bob here. Yeah, the regime is in collapse, and the people are starting to turn against them. We’re starting to see defections at Treasury," Bessent revealed. "We now know where the Iranian leadership bank accounts are, and those are being frozen. And, you know, we will hold them and see who comes forward in terms of defections. But we’re starting to see defections throughout the regime, and that’s how this ends. So, you know, the idea of some tolling arrangement is ridiculous."

This comes as the Trump administration has signaled they don't expect Operation Epic Fury to continue for much longer.

Bessent went on to explain a near-term solution for surging oil prices, as Americans at home have become frustrated with the price of gasoline. He revealed that the Trump administration plans to lift sanctions on certain Iranian oil that is already on ships at sea, freeing about 140 million barrels in total to sell.

"In essence," he said, "we'd be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days, as we continue this campaign. So, we have lots of levers."