‘Rats Fleeing the Ship’: Iran’s Ruling Elites ‘Frantically Wiring’ Millions Abroad, Bessent Says, as New Sanctions Hit

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sweeping new sanctions Thursday on senior Iranian officials and regime-linked financial networks, saying Tehran’s ruling elite are “rats fleeing the ship” as they frantically wire tens of millions of dollars out of the country amid mounting unrest.

At the direction of President Donald Trump, Bessent said the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown on protesters, while moving to choke off the regime’s sanctions-evasion pipelines used to launder proceeds from Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales.

In a video released Thursday on X alongside the sanctions announcement, Bessent said his message was directed to Iran’s leadership “on behalf of the people of Iran, who cannot speak for themselves,” before laying out how the administration anticipated — and accelerated — the regime’s collapse.

“Last March, we predicted that President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime would accelerate an economic collapse,” Bessent said. “Since then, our sanctions efforts have been effective in slashing oil exports and cutting revenue.”

Bessent said Iran’s currency and living conditions are now in freefall and the regime has burned through what remains of the economy with mismanagement, reckless subsidies, and price controls, while the central bank is effectively broke and printing money — pushing the country toward hyperinflation.

Rather than stabilizing the country, Bessent said, the Islamic Republic has “chosen to squander what remains of the nation’s oil revenues on nuclear weapons development, missiles, and terrorist proxies around the world,” as Iranians rightfully protest economic collapse and systemic corruption.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it is sanctioning the “architects” of the regime’s violent repression, along with the shadow banking networks Tehran uses to steal, move, and launder state revenue abroad.

Among those designated is Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, a senior regime figure who helped coordinate the nationwide crackdown and publicly called for violence against demonstrators.

Treasury also sanctioned senior provincial security commanders tied to particularly brutal crackdowns, while designating 18 individuals and entities that play critical roles in laundering proceeds from Iranian oil and petrochemical sales — money the department said fuels repression at home and terror operations abroad.

“These sanctions target the regime’s evasion networks and corrupt elites who enrich themselves at the expense of average Iranians,” Bessent said, stressing that Iran’s natural resources “belong to the Iranian people — not their brutal dictators.”

Bessent also underscored President Trump’s newly announced 25 percent tariff on countries that continue doing business with Iran, warning that foreign governments and firms still propping up the regime will face consequences.

“Our message to the Iranian people is clear,” Bessent said. “Your demands are legitimate. You are protesting for a noble cause, and the United States supports you.”

“Our message to Iran’s leaders is also clear,” he added. “U.S. Treasury knows that — like rats fleeing a sinking ship — you are frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we will track them and you.”

Bessent echoed the same assessment Wednesday night while appearing on Newsmax, saying Treasury is already tracking capital flight by Iran’s senior leadership.

“We are now seeing the rats fleeing the ship,” Bessent said. “Because we can see tens of millions of dollars being wired out of the country — snuck out of the country — by the Iranian leadership. So they are abandoning ship.”

“And we are seeing it come into banks and financial institutions all over the world,” he continued. “What we do at Treasury is follow the money — whether through the traditional banking system or through digital assets. We are going to trace these assets, and they will not be able to keep them.”

The sanctions escalation comes as Iran’s uprising pushes deeper into its third week and the Trump administration hardens its regional posture following reports of mass killings during the regime’s crackdown.

As Breitbart News reported Wednesday, the Pentagon has begun pulling personnel from key U.S. bases and shifting posture across the region as the White House weighs next steps, while Tehran has threatened retaliation against American assets if Washington strikes.

Bessent declined to speculate on the regime’s durability, instead pointing back to President Trump’s red line.

“President Trump’s demand is simple,” Bessent said. “The killing of the Iranian people must stop.”