Currency Crashes Ahead of Bessent “Economic D-Day”

Iran’s currency has dropped to a record low against the U.S. dollar as the Trump Administration prepares to unveil what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is calling an “economic D-Day” aimed at tightening financial pressure on Tehran.

President Trump says Iran is “collapsing,” while divisions appear to be growing within Iran’s leadership over whether to continue the conflict or pursue dialogue.

As reported by ABC News:

Iran’s currency hit a record low Monday as Washington prepared to announce new sanctions it said would add further pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade.

The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on currency markets. Iran’s official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million rial to the dollar, but the market rate is what most Iranians pay.

The currency had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, as Iran faced double-digit inflation and negative growth, but has repeatedly hit new lows as nearly six months of war have taken an even greater toll . . . Still, economic pressure has not yet translated into political pressure.

Iran retains a key strategic advantage: Its attacks and threats on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic in the vital waterway to a near halt, damaging the world economy and heaping pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of congressional elections.

The war, as a result, has devolved into a fight over who controls the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil transited before the conflict. Iran is now refusing to fully reopen it unless it can charge ships.

Iran and Oman, which is on the opposite side of the strait, are reportedly in the final stages of agreeing upon a plan for joint management of the waterway. Oman’s foreign minister is set to visit Iran on Tuesday.

In an attempt to break the impasse, Trump's administration promised even stronger sanctions than those already in place would be announced Monday, including secondary sanctions on countries that continue to do business with Iran.

Ahead of the announcement, Trump posted on social media that “IRAN IS COMPLETELY COLLAPSING!!!”

“President Trump decimated Iran’s economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker and inflation has rarely been higher,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Sunday in an opinion piece in the Financial Times. “The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace.”

Just on the expectation that US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent would be announcing a new round of sanctions against Iran – the Iranian economy’s hasn’t been pretty.

The Iranian rial has fallen to a record low, reaching roughly 2 million rials for one U.S. dollar on the market. Inflation is hammering ordinary Iranians, too. Rice prices are reportedly up 60 percent, beef has increased by more than 150 percent, and Iran's GDP is expected to contract by more than 5 percent.

And for those keeping track, Iran’s economy was already in terrible shape. But somehow, up until this point, Iran has managed to keep its economy going because it still has countries willing to do business with it. Those relationships have provided something of a financial lifeline to the regime.

As we expected – and since today’s broadcast – we now know – the Trump Administration plans to enact expanded “secondary” sanctions that will also target countries and third parties that continue doing business with Iran or those that act as intermediaries in those transactions. In other words, Iran can consider that lifeline cut.

If the United States begins punishing not just Iran but the countries and companies providing it with trade and economic support, you could see Iran become increasingly isolated. And given that it’s dealing with massive inflation, a collapsing currency, and a shrinking economy – that's going to tough for Iran to recover from.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has already moved to suspend trade with Iran. Some might think that seems sudden, but the real question might be, what took so long? Remember, Iran had already fired hundreds of ballistic missiles, thousands of drones and cruise missiles toward the UAE, and yet, it continued doing business with Iran.

Could economic sanctions finally force the regime to the negotiating table? Could it create enough pressure for some kind of internal change? Or, maybe worst of all, could it make an already dangerous Iran even more desperate?

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of the growing economic crash in Iran, seemingly caused by  pending new sanctions against Iran and its trade partners.

Watch the full broadcast below: