'ECONOMIC ASPHYXIATION': Bessent outlines Trump's plan to choke Iran into submission

Treasury has begun Operation Economic. Outcast, an unprecedented campaign. against the Islamic Republic of Iran and. its enablers. In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a. campaign with our allies to target and. drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are. launching an economic onslaught against.

Iran's financial connections around the. globe. Around the globe. Our objective. is to sever every economic lifeline that. sustains this tyrannical regime until. Tran stands alone. Iran's fanatics. devote themselves to death to America. and seek nuclear weapons to do just. that. They have murdered and maimed more. of our citizens and service members than.

any other terrorist regime on Earth. And. they have been at war against America, their neighbors in the Gulf, and much of. the world for 47 years. President Trump has taken action that. his predecessors have long deferred. And. under his leadership, America is no. longer managing the Iranian threat. We. are ending it. Iran now faces a very. clear choice with only two paths before.

them. complete global isolation and a. substanced economy or a path back to. normaly with an opportunity to rejoin. the global economy. Today we are launching operation. economic outcast to foreclose every. other option available to the Iranian. regime. >> Give you a final thought on that, Mr. Secretary. I. >> I think Secretary Besson is spot on. these will force that decision to for. them to pick one of those two paths. I.

think they'll test us. They'll try and. uh blow up ships in the straight. They'll try and make real pressure. They'll go after our Gulf Arab allies. But those choices will ultimately have. to be made. And I hope the Iranian. people will direct all around them, the. soldiers that are serving, the sailors. that are sailing, help direct those. folks to say, "We don't want to live in. a subsistence economy. We don't want to. be like the North Korean people. Uh we. want to be part of the global world, and. we should stop this madness." All right, thank you. We are watching market. reaction after the Treasury Secretary.

announces sanctions, very powerful. sanctions on Iran. Uh the Dow right now. off its highs, up 60 points, but also. looking at a drop in oil prices, a. pretty significant one, down a couple. percent in today's session. Let's bring. on our economic panel, Robert Wolf and. Steve Moore. Welcome to both of you. Thank you for being here. Uh first up, this is top five, guys. Um these are the. secondary sanctions announced by Besson. just moments ago. Listen. We we are giving everyone the. opportunity the to remedy bad behavior.

Why would I want to blow up the global. financial system? We believe that it is. important to level set and give people a. cure period, but they should know that. that will move very quickly and that we. are serious. Secondary sanctions are a. very powerful tool. If people do not. want to meet our expectations, then we. expect and they should expect that they. should will leave the dollar system. >> So, they're going after Iran's.

connections, Steve, all over the world. Uh they want to run to face complete. global isolation from what you just. heard. Will this work? >> Well, the markets like it, don't they? At least so far. It's good news that the. oil price fell uh when Scott Bessant was. talking about this. Look, I think it can. work. It It depends a lot on whether our. allies uh you know follow our lead here. Uh but I think they will. And uh listen, I like what Scott Besson said. You have.

two options here. Either you're. cooperative, you act like a civilized. nation, or you're going to feel you're. going to be completely isolated. economically. And that's exactly what. Trump and his his team should be saying. right now. >> As always, when sanctions are announced, you ask the question, can they enforce. this? Right, Robert? Uh this is the zero. leakage approach described by Secretary. Bessant a moment ago. >> Treasury has mapped every node, every. facilitator, and every network that Iran.

has used to smuggle oil and evade. sanctions. Beginning today, the actions of Treasury. and other agencies will tighten the. noose and block every potential source. of revenue that funds the IRGC and the. evil Iranian regime. We are enforcing a. zero leakage approach. >> Your reaction, Robert? You know, uh, Sandra, although I've been critical in. their approach with this Iran war, this. I support fully because,

um, Iran's already been hammered, uh, economically. Inflation's up at 85 90%. But when you start going after secondary. sanctions, you're going after all their. trading partners. You're going after the. way that they can find wiggle room. Um, unfortunately in 2004 when I was at UBS, we circumvented secondary sanctions on. Iran, Libya, and Cuba. We were uh we had. to pay a big fine. I didn't become. president of UBS till 2006, so it's.

before I was running it. But um listen, you have to make sure there's zero. wiggle room. What I was what I think um. Treasury Secretary Besset needs to do. better is be clear to China and Chinese. banks who really is the the key to all. of this working um that they are going. to keep a a a tight tight eye on them. and they're going to make sure that if. there's any um shenanigans going on that. they're going to pay the price because. really at the end of the day this is all. about China and Russia because Turkey.

and Pakistan and the other trading. partners they're not going to do. anything against the US. Okay. But this. is all about Russia and China. I think. he has to be firmer on that. >> Yeah, Steve, that's a good point. Um, this was the moment when Treasury. Secretary Bessant talked about exactly. that and warned any country uh that is. foolish enough to help Iran. Listen. here. >> Any entity that facilitates money. laundering on behalf of Iran. will be removed from the US dollar.

system. The clock just started ticking. These measures broaden secondary SH. sanctions risk for anyone foolish enough. to continue conducting business with. this regime and will accelerate the. speed with which with we pursue them. >> So Steve, this wasn't just a warning to. Iran. This was a message to the world. >> Yeah, look, the friend of our enemy is. our enemy. And that's what uh what. Secretary Bessant is saying here. You.

know, Robert is exactly right that one. of the key players here is China. And I. was just looking at these statistics. this morning, Sandra. You know, above. 80% of the oil that comes out of the. Persian Gulf and through the straight of. Hermus, you know where it goes? It goes. to China, India, and Asia. So my po the. reason I bring that up, Sandra, is it's. in China's own economic interest to get. this system uh resolved so they can have. low energy prices. the question. But of. course that we also know the China.

government will do everything they can. to try to wreak havoc uh on the Trump. administration. >> Got it. Uh appreciate both of you. joining us on the breaking news uh that. we got from the Treasury just moments. ago. Thank you both. Steve, Robert, >> John, >> thank you. John, retired Air Force. General John Tikker joins us now. So. Scott Besset with some pretty strong. words against Iran. Here is what he said. about an hour ago. Listen here. has mapped every node, every. facilitator, and every network that Iran.

has used to smuggle oil and evade. sanctions. Beginning today, the actions of Treasury. and other agencies will tighten the. noose and block every potential source. of revenue that funds the IRGC and the. evil Iranian regime. We are enforcing a. zero leakage approach. >> We're squeezing them harder now. squeezing them to the degree that we. have hasn't brought them to their knees. Will this. >> John? Last week we talked about how.

success was a race against the clock, whether the blockade would put enough. pressure on them before economic. conditions put pressure on the president. of the United States. And this is. another strategy that benefits us. accelerating that clock in our favor. Because if we truly do carry through. with these threats, then we isolate. Iran. We take away their means of. threatening internally and externally. And maybe this will put enough pressure. to succeed. >> Senator John Baraso thinks uh that this. is going to work. This is what he told. Maria Bart Romo yesterday. Listen here.

>> In Iran right now, the maximum sanctions. being applied are the things that are. going to make Iran finally say, "You're. right. We were wrong. No nuclear weapon. Straights open. Let's get back to. probably trying to get some sort of a. life to the future.". >> It sounds like a lot of wishful thinking. there. When has Iran ever said, "You're. right. were wrong. >> I don't think that's going to be the way. this plays out. But I do think that if. this does indeed isolate Iran and the. regime, then it takes away their means.

to do the things that we don't want them. to do to repress internally to threaten. externally. Over time, this could. succeed. Not because they're going to. say, "You're right. We're wrong." But. maybe it would take away enough. resources where they wouldn't be able to. do those things against our interests. >> All right. Well, they're certainly. talking tough. Here's what one Iranian. official, Mosen Razi, said. Any country. that becomes a partner in creating. economic restrictions against us will be. regarded by us as an enemy. It's like, oo, I'm scared. I mean, they're a.

toothless tiger. What can they really. do? >> John, I think, you know, a strategy is a. good idea. When you hear grandio threats. trying to stop you from doing it from. the regime they did that with the Kurds. They've done that with Car Island and. now they're doing it here. That means. they know that this could impact them. severely. They're trying to deter us and. others from following through. But I. hope we do follow through unlike some of. those other cases. >> Iran keeps saying we control the. straight of Hormuz. Well, apparently. tanker traffic is up 400%. Uh over just. a couple of weeks ago. So clearly they.

don't control the straight. >> That's right. And I think if indeed. we're up to about 50% of pre-war oil. levels flowing through the straight, then the Pentagon has done a brilliant. job with Central Command, helping. unleash some of those other capabilities. and ultimately in that race against the. clock, alleviating pressure against us. while ratcheting up against the regime. >> Price of oil was coming down today. It's. still higher than where President Trump. would want it to be, but it, you know, it hasn't gone crazy. It's not in the. hundreds or 150s or or whatever. But if.

Iran if this does not work and sanctions. always take a while to work. So I think. the president is probably looking at a. timeline that takes us into December for. this. But if Iran doesn't fold, what. then? >> John, I think that we have to be patient. here. It is going to take a while for. these to actually start biting. It does. beg the question why we didn't start. these six months ago when combat. operations started. But I think the. president now realizes he's in this for. the long term. If he's not willing to. return to kinetic military operations,

then this is the best play. And I firmly. believe that by strangling the regime, then it does take away those resources. and the means to hinder our interests. >> Okay. So, if we go back to kinetic. operations, President Trump will order all these. attacks. He'll pound Iran. Saudi Arabia. will say, "Please stop." United Arab. Emirates will say, "Please stop." Oman. will say, "Please stop." Katar will say, "Please stop." So, he stops again. And. then we're right back here again. >> John, you and I have talked a lot about. Cara Island. It would not take a lot for.

us to destroy Iran's oil export. capability permanently by destroying. some of those capabilities in Car. Island. And I think if we did restart. kinetic operations, we would strike. those targets before those other. partners in the region would call us to. back off. >> Well, that would certainly be an. escalation on our part. And the Chinese. might not like it either. We'll see. Uh. John, always great to see you. Thanks. for coming in. >> Thank you, John. >> Appreciate it, Sander. Let's bring in. retired General Mark Kimtt, former. assistant secretary of state. Uh, General, uh, it seems now that the.

Treasury Secretary's strategy is to. really try and choke off the Iranian. regime from not only the the global. economy, but from any kind of access to. the US dollars, whether it is direct or. through uh secondary parties, hence this. term secondary sanctions. Is this the. right strategy at the right moment? >> Well, it really is. Uh the president is. dialing three knobs, military,

diplomatic, and economic. And it really. appears that he's turned the economic. knob up to full. And the fact that he. calls it an economic D-Day not only. signifies the importance of this effort, but that we are not doing this alone. We. didn't cross Normandy Beach uh without. our allies, Britain, Canada, and other forces. And. we're not doing this economic sanction. program without the help of our allies. as well.

>> One question that occurs to me, sir, is. if this economic news tightening was. available to the US, why is this only coming into play now? >> Well, there are a couple of things. uh. there is always some backwash on. sanctions onto the people of the. country. Obviously, if you choke the. regime, if you choke the entire economy, it's the people that are going to feel. it more than the regime. The regime is.

enjoying their lives. Uh they're not. they're still being fed. They're still. living and driving in great cars. Uh. they still have internet access. The. people don't. But it's come to the point. now where the economic sanctions will. invariably have an effect on the people. and I certainly hope that it is just a. minor uh effect on the people. It would. also indicate to me that there will be. third party sanctions. As uh Secretary. Besson said, it's not just the Iranians. we're going after, but we're going after.

the facilitators, anybody that is helping Iran as well. So. that even though the record of sanctions. throughout history uh American history. is not really strong, I think this time. the president is not only willing to go. against programs that will affect the. Iranian people, but against those third. party countries that are important to. us. >> And to your good point, take a look at.

this. Uh the Iranian economy is. essentially uh teetering on the brink of. complete collapse. We are learning the. currency exchange rate is about uh 2. million Iranian realale to1 US dollar. Inflation is nearing 90%. there. Uh here's a little bit of. context. Tran's grocery stores are well. stocked, but many families can already. barely afford the basics. Unemployment. is soaring and those with jobs are. working for more hours for more for.

money worth half as much as a year ago, putting food, medicine, and everything. else further out of reach. There is. going to be plenty of suffering to go. around. Is there a way a vehicle through. which the administration, the Trump. administration can ensure uh that the. regime does get squeezed here? >> Yeah. Yeah. A little bit of history. This reminds me very much of VHimar. Germany after the first world war when.

people were literally carrying Reichkes. marks around in wheelbarrows to be able. to uh buy a loaf of bread. The inflation. rate was similar to what's happening. here. Now I think we need to be careful. that we don't have the same aftere. effects in Iran that we had in Germany. which in many ways led to the rise of. Hitler. We don't want to see our. squeezing to be so significant on the. people that all of a sudden the Iranian.

revolutionary guards corps takes control. and in fact uh become allies of the. people. >> Uh all right. Well, uh, a a bleak future. ahead for the people of that country, but hopefully, uh, freedom will prevail. General, thanks for joining us this. afternoon. We appreciate it. >> Let's talk about this economic D-Day. with the Foundation for Defense of. Democracies, senior fellow Miad Mlei. Miad, it's good to see you here on the. program. Let's talk about this. That's a. stunning figure, 2 million real to $1.

As you look at the economic pressure. being put on Iran, tell me how this. should play out. How do the dominoes. fall for victory against Iran? >> Well, thanks for having me and a great. question. I think what we're seeing. happening right now with the Treasury. Department taking the lead on um the the. uh conflict with Iran is this very smart. and comprehensive approach to using. economic sanctions against Iran. So you. know if you're looking at uh the press. release by the OFAC in Treasury.

Department and the announcement by. Secretary Besson it's very clear that. what Secretary Brethan is doing is. banking on the threat of sanctions and. secondary sanctions more than the tool. itself. Uh there are comprehensive. sanctions on Iran already but there are. a lot of opportunities to work with our. ally and partners and others such as. China with a threat of secondary. sanctions to bring them to join this. campaign against Iran. they're suffering. from what Iran is doing in a straight of. foremost so far. I think China and some. of these countries that were sitting on.

the side and. >> they were maybe um assuming that the US. will walk away and things would end. poorly for us, but now they're getting. the message that the US is not going. anywhere and they need to either join us. or or go ahead. >> Okay. So, I want to make sure I. understand what you're saying. The. secondary sanctions are what actually. carry the weight of the day. You're. talking about the threats to anyone who. might aid Iran. So therefore, further. isolating Iran, cutting them off from, as you mentioned, perhaps China. But. then play this out for me. As we know, Iran has lived under the threat and the.

imposition of sanctions for years. So. let's say the US gets the isolation of. Iran. Everybody else pulls away. All the. potential allies and the economic. pressure exists on Iran. Play those. dominoes out for me. What happens in. Iran? Well, I mean, they're reaching the point. of um you know, they can continue to pay. salaries for government employees. They. might they might continue to print. Iranian realal, the currency that is. losing its value every day. But if you.

can't really buy anything with your. salary, then with the inflation rate, then you're basically not getting paid. And the government revenue comes from. taxation and oil. Both of those are now. cut. So, the government is going to end. up not being able to operate or pay. salaries. And you also have the import. from UA and elsewhere that has been cut. off. And Iran's access to foreign. currency is also cut off. They can't. really buy much. So it really creates a. situation that the regime is going to. have to accept either cut a deal or face.

a domestic threat that is um that is. really the most threatening threat to. his survival. >> Okay. So when Bessant says that the. Berlin well wall fell because soldiers. decided not to shoot, he used that as. analogy. You're talking about Iranian. soldiers not getting paid. Now, this is. the inevitable question because Iran has. shown a lot of tolerance. How long how. long until this economic reality sets in. and run? Well, the the regime has for years been. under severe sanctions. You're right.

that it's, you know, it's difficult to. come up with a time frame, but here's. what I can tell you. as their the Iran's. economy is not really run by the. government as much as it's run by the. oligarchs by these businessmen who are. connected to the regime and runs the. economy. At some point they're going to. realize that be aligned with this regime. is more of a liability than than. financial incentive. They're going to. start defect. I think that defection is. going to start soon if this economic. pressure campaign um remain in place the.

way it is and we get more partners to. join us. I I I think they're at the. point that they're gonna have to start. either thinking about a deal or things. just going to break apart in Iran very. soon. >> Okay. So, igarchs start defecting, soldiers stop getting paid, walking away. from their post, and then you talk about. victory in Iran. We'll see on the. timeline. Miad Mali, thank you so much. >> Thanks. >> But first, breaking tonight, the Trump. administration dramatically increases. pressure on Iran by blocking virtually.

all sources of revenue to the Islamic. Republic. The so-called economic D-Day. moves were announced this afternoon by. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant. Earlier in the day, President Trump. tweeted that Iran is completely. collapsing. But will the economic. pressure translate into political. change? Correspondent Lucas Tomlinson. starts us off live in the north lawn of. the White House. Good evening, Lucas. >> Good evening, Brett. The Trump. administration is also putting a $10. million bounty on the head of Iran. Supreme Leader Mushtab Ham as well as.

senior leaders in Iran's Islamic. Revolutionary Guard Corps in addition to. the sanctions laid out by Treasury. Secretary Scott Besson. >> The clock just started ticking. Approaching the Iran conflict's. six-month mark, the Treasury Secretary. is announcing new sanctions to squeeze. Iran's economy and isolate the Islamic. Republic further, targeting more than 60. international entities that engage in. trade with the regime, including energy, shipping, aviation, and technology. >> Our objective is to sever every economic.

lifeline that sustains this tyrannical. regime. >> Iran dismissed today's actions. known as. >> Iran will make use of all its. multilateral capabilities to counter the. economic sanctions. >> Secretary Besson says President Trump. spent part of the day making phone calls. to world leaders with requests to cease. all transactions with Iran. >> Any entity that facilitates money. laundering on behalf of Iran. will be removed from the US dollar.

system. >> One of those entities is China. Before. the naval blockade resumed, 80% of. Iran's oil went to China. Sanctions. against Iranian entities may overshadow. next month's state visit when Mr. Trump. hosts Chinese President Xi at the White. House. >> It's always been something that we have. been very careful about. Secondary. sanctions on Chinese banks to actually. execute a real D-Day. Secondary. sanctions against Chinese banks will. have to be imposed. >> Republicans hope the Iran conflict ends.

before the midterm elections. The. president's son-in-law and special envoy. Jared Kushner reportedly held a private. meeting with House Minority Leader Hakee. Jeff to discuss areas of common ground. Another ranking House Democrat dismissed. concerns the meeting may have. compromised the party. >> We are going to hold the crooks. accountable and so we will work with the. White House. That's going to be part of. our job and priorities. This afternoon, President Trump hosted a.

back to school event in the Rose Garden. alongside education secretary Linda. McMahon. The president touted school. choice, parental rights, and the. education freedom tax credit. Brett, >> Lucas Thomasson live in the north lawn. Lucas, thanks. Be sure to like and subscribe for all. the Fox News latest on YouTube and catch. full shows streaming now on Fox.