Bessent: Sanctions on Iran Are ‘Paying Off’ — Iranian Currency and Economy ‘Collapsing’

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that Washington’s sanctions on Iran are “paying off” and that Iran’s currency and economy are “collapsing”, as Al Jazeera reports in its latest live war updates. The statement marks a fresh public assessment by the Trump administration of the effectiveness of the economic-pressure campaign accompanying the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports — a campaign aimed at stopping Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The economic picture in Iran is indeed grim. Official data published last week showed inflation falling for the first time in 15 months, but remaining at a high 83.8%, while the oil and gas sector contracted by 26% as a result of the war. Meanwhile, international flights to Iran are being suspended one after another: Oman and Azerbaijan banned flights by Iranian airlines, the United Arab Emirates did the same, and Tehran Airport confirmed the suspension of routes to several destinations.

Bessent has been the public face of the administration’s economic pressure: he recently unveiled the “three scenarios” of U.S. pressure on Iran and announced new sanctions on Iranian oil. Earlier this month he said all Iranian airlines would be shut down within two days, while Washington also held “positive” private talks with China on financial ties with Iran.

Tehran presents the situation differently. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insists that only diplomacy can resolve the conflict and says Iran is still awaiting the formal U.S. response via mediators to the 7-day peace proposal, which President Trump publicly rejected. The Iranian military spokesman, meanwhile, has warned that Iran will respond to new attacks with “new military technologies” and “surprises”.