• Treasury Secretary Bessent claims Iran is running out of dollars and cutting funding to proxies, but independent verification is lacking.
  • Recent sanctions target banks, shipping networks, and intermediaries in a widening campaign.
  • Oil markets and foreign banks face rising compliance risks as enforcement expands.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran is increasingly unable to obtain dollars and is reducing financial support to its regional proxies, according to an interview with CNBC (VSNT) on Tuesday. The remarks come as Washington escalates its sanctions campaign against Iranian financial networks, though the administration has not provided public evidence to quantify the claimed decline in proxy funding.

Bessent, speaking from Washington, argued that the administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy is constricting Tehran’s access to foreign currency and limiting its ability to bankroll groups such as Hezbollah and Iraqi militias. “Iran is not able to get dollars, and funding for their proxies is going down,” he said, without offering specific figures. The Treasury Department did not respond to a request for comment on the data underlying his assertion.

Sanctions Net Widens

The comments follow a series of enforcement actions in recent weeks. On October 21, the Treasury sanctioned a Panama- and Greece-based law firm, shipping agents in Singapore and the UAE, and associated vessels for allegedly facilitating Iranian commodity exports. The department also disclosed an investigation into a Greek bank’s potential links to Iran and its proxies. Earlier, on October 15, a package targeted an Iraqi bank, Iranian offshore banks, and international financial intermediaries accused of helping Tehran obtain dollars and move funds through shell companies, foreign-exchange networks, gold, and cash.

The campaign, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast,” was launched on August 24 and has since designated more than 60 entities, individuals, and vessels. It expanded sanctions exposure across digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, while threatening exclusion from the U.S. dollar system for entities facilitating Iranian money laundering.

Dollar Access: A Matter of Degree

Bessent’s claim that Iran is “not able to get dollars” should be read as a statement about increasingly constrained financial channels rather than a complete cutoff, according to former Treasury officials. “The sanctions have made it far more difficult and expensive for Iran to access dollars, but it would be inaccurate to say they have zero access,” said a former senior sanctions official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The administration is describing a trend, not an absolute.”

Recent enforcement actions themselves describe alternative networks involving offshore banks, brokers, front companies, and gold—suggesting that Iran is adapting rather than being entirely shut out. The Treasury has acknowledged that foreign financial institutions facilitating significant transactions for designated parties can face restrictions on U.S. correspondent banking access, a powerful deterrent that has chilled many banks’ willingness to handle Iranian-related business.

Economic Pain, Political Risk

Bessent also predicted that Iran’s economy would contract by more than 25% in the year ending March 2027 and warned of fuel shortages and unpaid salaries. Those forecasts are his assessments and have not been independently verified. The International Monetary Fund has not released updated projections for Iran since the latest sanctions round.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has dismissed the pressure campaign as “doubling down on failed policies” and warned it would deepen Iranians’ hostility toward Washington. Humanitarian channels for food and medicine remain formally open, but Bessent said the government was running short of dollars to pay for imports—highlighting the gap between permitted trade and the ability to finance it.

Market and Compliance Implications

The sanctions have also raised compliance risks for foreign banks and shipping firms. Oil markets have shown sensitivity to the tightening restrictions, with prices rising after Bessent’s August announcement of intensified pressure. The Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil trade, remains a transportation risk factor.

“The enforcement perimeter now extends well beyond Iranian institutions to foreign banks, maritime agents, legal advisers, and corporate-service providers,” said a London-based sanctions lawyer who requested anonymity. “Any institution touching Iranian-related trade needs to reassess its exposure.”

The Treasury says it is coordinating with European, British, and Gulf partners, but some allies have been reluctant to join secondary sanctions. The effectiveness of the campaign will depend heavily on foreign governments’ cooperation.

What to Watch

In the near term, further enforcement actions are expected: Bessent promised more intense pressure over the next eight weeks. Key indicators include independently measured Iranian oil exports, usable foreign-exchange access, import availability, and evidence of actual payment reductions to allied groups. For now, the evidence supports an intensifying financial squeeze, but the headline claims about complete dollar exclusion and falling proxy funding remain difficult to verify.

Clarification: An earlier version of this article referred to the Treasury Secretary’s remarks as being made on Tuesday. The interview aired on CNBC on Tuesday, but the exact date of the conversation was not specified by the network.