U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mocked the Iranian regime Sunday as “Keystone Cops” as he expressed optimism oil prices would drop “much below” what they were before the U.S. commenced Operation Epic Fury against the Islamic Republic.
“They’re kind of like the Keystone Cops here,” Bessent said on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News Channel.
“Reminds me of Baghdad Bob during the Iraqi War. You had the guy kind of spouting nonsense while the tanks were driving around behind him. The Iranians are like this.”
“Their oil infrastructure is starting to creak. It hasn’t been maintained because of our decades-long sanctions against them. They are rapidly filling up storage and that as that happens, they’re gonna have to start shutting in wells which we think could be in the next week.”
Bessent characterized the totality of U.S. actions against Iran as “running a marathon over the past 12 months, and now we are sprinting towards the finish line.”
“We are suffocating the regime and they are not able to pay their soldiers. This is a real economic blockade.”
“We are suffocating the regime, and they are not able to pay their soldiers,” says @SecScottBessent on ‘Operation Economic Fury.’
“And we have upped the pressure on anyone trying to remit money into Iran to help the IRGC.” pic.twitter.com/S1J1gxjfuk
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 3, 2026
“And we have upped the pressure on anyone trying to remit money into Iran to help the IRGC. They are a corrupt institution. They’ve been stealing from the Iranian people for years. They have money offshore. We’ve tracked that down … and we’re gonna preserve those assets for the Iranian people on the other side of this conflict.”
Bessent noted Tehran “really miscalculated when they started bombing their gulf neighbors in a kinetic fashion,” once the U.S. began bombing Iran.
He said cooperation from those gulf neighbors has allowed the U.S. to freeze assets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.
“The IRGC is watching their stolen assets for years, decades, for 47 years, get frozen and go down the drain very quickly,” Bessent said.
.@SecScottBessent on Iran: “They really miscalculated when they started bombing their Gulf neighbors in a kinetic fashion, and in response, the Gulf neighbors—who I would describe as somewhat permissive in allowing Iranian IRGC money, Iranian regime money into their banking… pic.twitter.com/ft9dHP2Lkq
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 3, 2026
He also said the major decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the OPEC oil cartel will likely have a huge positive impact on oil prices.
“The UAE has decided OPEC is not for them. Most monopolies eventually collapse under their own weight,” Bessent indicated.
“This gives me a lot of optimism that oil prices on the other side of this conflict are going to be much lower than they were going in or at the beginning of the year or at any point in 2025.”
When looking at the oil futures market, the Treasury secretary said: “Oil prices are already lower three months, six months, nine months out.”
“There are hundreds of oil tankers in the gulf waiting to come out.”
On Saturday, President Donald Trump said: “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years.”
On Friday, Bessent posted two significant messages about the Islamic Republic on his X page, saying: “Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and under @POTUS’ leadership, Treasury is moving aggressively, through Economic Fury, to sever the Iranian military’s financial lifelines. We will relentlessly target the regime’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds, and pursue anyone enabling Tehran’s attempts to evade sanctions.”
He added, “It is very difficult for rats in a sewer pipe to know what’s going on in the outside world. Some color for the Iranian Leadership as they literally sit in the dark:
“1. The United States has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“2. There is a hard currency, i.e. U.S. dollar, shortage.
“3. Food and gasoline rationing are in place.
“4. The entire international community has turned against you.
“5. The BLOCKADE will continue, until there is pre-February 27 Freedom of Navigation.”
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