People may forget that Scott Bessent is probably the strongest wartime Treasury secretary going all the way back, at least to World War II. Through his Economic Fury campaign, he has slowly but surely turned off Iran’s monetary and economic spigots.
Not only the blockade of Iranian ports, which has stopped their oil sales and revenues, but also his putting an end to their shadow banking system through aggressive use and modernization of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, he has closed down their offshore bank accounts not only by freezing the accounts, but increasingly by actually seizing them, especially the crypto accounts, really to the tune of approaching $1 trillion worth.
People forget that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps owns half of Iran, and they live off the oil sales and they live off the businesses, and they’ve got the offshore accounts in the Gulf states and elsewhere. And Mr. Bessent has basically turned nearly all of that water off. And his campaign continues.
Noteworthy also how all of these actions against our bitter Iranian enemy have strengthened the reserve currency value of the United States dollar, which is a long Trumpian policy fully supported by Mr. Bessent, shuttering bank branches, dismantling proxies, ending their shadow networks. It’s a crucial aspect of the successful American war to crush Iran. The most gruesome, gruesome Nazi type regime in some 100 years.
I talked to Mr. Bessent about all this at the Reagan National Economic Forum. While conducting financial war against Iran, Mr. Bessent has also managed to implement Trumpian economic policies, low tax rates, deregulation, “drill, baby, drill,” fair and reciprocal free trade.
All of this has propelled our resilient economy and the temporary wartime bump-up in energy and gasoline prices has not really interfered much with that. Business is booming in America. In the year after signing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, profits are soaring, stock markets are breaking records, consumers are still spending, and rock-bottom unit labor costs belie any long-term inflationary concerns.
It’s a sign of confidence in this American war and the conduct of the war, and a sign of confidence in our long term future economy and in the administration of Donald J. Trump and Scott Bessent. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday here at the Reagan Library, both Reagan-esque and Trumpian optimism prevails. And with good reason.
Larry Kudlow is a columnist for the New York Sun. From Mr. Kudlow’s broadcast on Fox Business Network.
