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style="display:none;font-size:1px;color:#333333;line-height:1px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;opacity:0;overflow:hidden;">US
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent boasted Trump's illegal
"maximum pressure" sanctions seek to "collapse" Iran's economy
by cutting off oil exports, fueling inflation: "Making Iran
broke again".</div>
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<h1 class="post-title published title-X77sOw"
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href="https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=457596&post_id=187172932&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=lvppb&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTg3MTcyOTMyLCJpYXQiOjE3NzA4OTczODcsImV4cCI6MTc3MzQ4OTM4NywiaXNzIjoicHViLTQ1NzU5NiIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.NJshrzw5Ce9C9cx98vx4IJsUE3IMJApBkjQz_AYBtbg"
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illegal sanctions 'collapsed' Iran's economy,
causing high inflation and protests</a></h1>
<h3 class="subtitle subtitle-HEEcLo" dir="auto"
style="direction: auto;text-align: start;unicode-bidi: isolate;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: normal;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 4px 0 0;color: #777777;line-height: 24px;font-size: 18px;margin-top: 12px;">US
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent boasted Trump's
illegal "maximum pressure" sanctions seek to
"collapse" Iran's economy by cutting off oil
exports, fueling inflation: "Making Iran broke
again".</h3>
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href="https://substack.com/@benjaminnorton" moz-do-not-send="true">Ben
Norton</a></div>
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datetime="2026-02-12T11:56:17.094Z">Feb 12, 2026</time></div>
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<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Donald
Trump has openly </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/66182e65-b13e-49a4-a080-aa7a5a89a69c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">called for \u201cregime
change\u201d in Iran</a><span>. He has </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/f1fb7543-a64e-4abd-b8d4-ee3608e4ee6f?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">surrounded the country</a><span>
with what he calls a \u201c</span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/2237539d-8d0d-4a10-970e-d0ddbf0edadc?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">massive armada</a><span>\u201d,
and has suggested that he wants to kill Iran\u2019s
supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>While
Trump threatens to </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/10df4af3-4b24-4848-9dbd-a9ded92afbb6?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">bomb Iran again</a><span>,
after attacking it in 2025, the US government
has been dropping devastating economic bombs on
the nation.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Top
US government officials boast that they are trying
to \u201ccollapse\u201d Iran\u2019s economy.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>The
Trump administration is waging what it calls a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/b6438839-dfd5-4019-9e36-390a403c822d?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">\u201cmaximum pressure\u201d
campaign</a><span> against Tehran, which the
White House says is \u201caimed at driving Iran\u2019s oil
exports to zero\u201d.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Washington\u2019s
strategy is to starve Iran of export revenue by
sabotaging its oil industry. By denying Tehran
access to hard currency, the US aims to cause high
rates of inflation and destroy the value of Iran\u2019s
currency, the rial.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">This
US economic warfare does great harm not only the
Iranian government, but to all of the 93 million
Iranians who live in the country. Civilians are
bearing the brunt of the pain.</p>
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<h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;">US
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on \u201cmaking Iran
broke again\u201d</h3>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Washington\u2019s
strategy for scorched-earth economic warfare was
clearly spelled out by Treasury Secretary Scott
Bessent, a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/860fd542-f481-4a58-9f9c-f32a23c1c832?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">billionaire hedge-fund
manager</a><span> from Wall Street.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
an </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/fe3e9ecc-8330-45f3-af18-0783baacd08c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">interview with Fox News</a><span>
in January, anchor Maria Bartiromo asked Bessent
about the impact of the sanctions that the US
government has imposed on Iran.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Bessent
bragged that these unilateral coercive measures,
which </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/2e1fb21e-a606-408e-aeab-c5b3b0006514?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">flagrantly violate
international law</a><span>, have caused Iran to
run out of dollars, which means Iran cannot pay
for imports or stabilize its currency, leading
to significant inflation.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>\u201cTheir
economy collapsed\u201d, Bessent gloated. The top US
official then took credit for the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/fb0e8739-3d4d-46c0-950f-0a7ce3f3b008?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">violent protests and
riots in Iran</a><span>.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">These
were Bessent\u2019s full remarks (all emphasis added):</p>
<blockquote
style="border-left: 4px solid #ad0000;margin: 20px 0;padding: 0;">
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><strong>MARIA
BARTIROMO</strong><span>: What do you want to
say about sanctions? Something else you\u2019ve
been working on, of course. What are you
planning there in terms of Iran, and the
impact there? Do sanctions actually work? </span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">And
the same question with regard to 500% secondary
sanctions or tariffs on countries who purchase
energy products from Russia.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><strong>SCOTT
BESSENT</strong><span>: OK, so two things
here. There are Treasury sanctions. And if you
look at a speech that I gave at the Economic
Club of New York last March [2025], I said
that I believe </span><strong>the Iranian
currency was on the verge of collapse</strong><span>,
that if I were an Iranian citizen, I would
take my money out. </span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">President
Trump ordered Treasury and OFAC division, Office
of Foreign Asset Control, to put \u201cmaximum
pressure\u201d on Iran.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>And
it\u2019s worked. Because, in December, </span><strong>their
economy collapsed.</strong></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><strong>We
saw a major bank go under. The central bank
has started to print money. There is a dollar
shortage. They are not able to get imports.</strong></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><strong>And
this is why the people took to the street.</strong><span>
</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">So
this is economic statecraft. No shots fired.</p>
</blockquote>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
the Fox News interview, Bessent cited a </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/1bea17a5-7272-4294-b497-61d43d93b455?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">speech that he delivered
at the Economic Club of New York</a><span> in
March 2025.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">In
those remarks, the US Treasury secretary admitted
that the Trump administration\u2019s \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d
campaign on Iran was \u201cdesigned to collapse its
already buckling economy\u201d.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">This
is what Bessent said:</p>
<blockquote
style="border-left: 4px solid #ad0000;margin: 20px 0;padding: 0;">
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Last
month, the White House announced its \u201cmaximum
pressure\u201d campaign on Iran, </span><strong>designed
to collapse its already buckling the economy</strong><span>.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
Iranian economy is in disarray: 35% official
inflation \u2014 official inflation \u2014 a currency that
has depreciated 60% in the last 12 months, and
an ongoing energy crisis. </p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>I
know a few things about currency devaluations.
And </span><strong>if I were an Iranian, I
would get all of my money out of the rial,
now.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
the same </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/33af6dd2-11bb-40e0-803a-7607cb97655f?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">address at the Economic
Club of New York</a><span>, Bessent vowed: \u201cWe
will close off Iran\u2019s access to the
international financial system, by targeting
regional parties that facilitate the transfer of
its revenues\u201d.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cOur
maximum pressure campaign [is] designed to
collapse Iranian oil exports\u201d, he said. </p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cWe
are going to shut down Iran\u2019s oil sector\u201d, he
declared.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Bessent
then quipped, \u201cMaking Iran broke again will mark
the beginning of our updated sanctions policy\u201d.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cIf
economic security is national security, the regime
in Tehran will have neither\u201d, he added.</p>
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moz-do-not-send="true"></a></div>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">When
Bessent gave this speech at the Economic Club of
New York, he was surrounded by Wall Street
executives. They applauded with glee as he vowed
to \u201ccollapse\u201d Iran\u2019s economy.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Sitting
directly behind Bessent on stage was the
billionaire oligarch Stephen Schwarzman, who is
CEO of Blackstone, the largest alternative asset
manager on earth, which is known for its massive
private-equity arm.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Blackstone
is the largest landlord in the United States.
The Wall Street firm </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/844000f3-39b2-4651-8f51-a77f52798ae1?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">owns more than 300,000
rental housing units</a><span> in the US.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Schwarzman
also happened to be one of the main funders of
Trump\u2019s presidential campaign.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>After
Trump won the 2024 election, Bloomberg noted
that the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/ed1ccd78-3bb8-4aa8-8bfc-000c6e4b8fc3?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">billionaire oligarch\u2019s
\u201cbet pays off\u201d</a><span>, and that the Wall
Street executive would be \u201cwell-positioned to
influence business, tax policies\u201d.</span></p>
<div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
<figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
<table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="content" align="left"
width="1456" style="text-align: center;"><a
class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/0d86b587-2972-4ca6-bb71-291e16b0fa4d?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img
class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/15c019a7-c377-416c-8b0a-7f9a1cbd35d7_2559x1428.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":812,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":1669745,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/187172932?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F15c019a7-c377-416c-8b0a-7f9a1cbd35d7_2559x1428.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}"
alt="" width="550"
height="306.7307692307692"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!L9wJ!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F15c019a7-c377-416c-8b0a-7f9a1cbd35d7_2559x1428.png"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: rgb(119,119,119);font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">Billion
oligarch Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of
Blackstone, sitting behind US Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent during his speech on
\u201ccollapsing\u201d Iran\u2019s economy</figcaption></figure>
</div>
<h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;">Close
correlation between US sanctions and inflation</h3>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
US Treasury secretary\u2019s admission that Washington
is intentionally trying to cause hyperinflation in
Iran is extremely revealing.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Western
media outlets and pundits often blame the high
rates of inflation in sanctioned countries like
Iran on corruption and mismanagement. </p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">However,
it is not a coincidence that many of the countries
with the highest rates of inflation on Earth have
been sanctioned by the United States and the West
more broadly, including Venezuela, Zimbabwe,
Sudan, and Iran.</p>
<div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
<figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
<table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="content" align="left"
width="1200" style="text-align: center;"><a
class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/7f87cbee-5b37-49d7-bcb5-485f5bab892c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img
class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1cf618d2-7174-493c-b5b1-0607642be180_1200x1200.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":1200,"width":1200,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":404985,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/jpeg","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/187172932?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1cf618d2-7174-493c-b5b1-0607642be180_1200x1200.jpeg","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}"
alt="" width="550" height="550"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5mfv!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1cf618d2-7174-493c-b5b1-0607642be180_1200x1200.jpeg"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
</div>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
US government has waged brutal economic warfare
against these countries, seeking to deny them
access to the dollar-dominated international
financial system and collapse their local
currencies.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Corruption
and mismanagement are not irrelevant (and they
exist in every country), but they distract from
the most important factor: sanctions.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
the case of Iran, a look at </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/cf40b9a6-5062-4f0c-b3d7-d4e06388dd5e?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">World Bank data</a><span>
shows that there is a very close correlation
between US sanctions and inflation.</span></p>
<div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
<figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
<table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="content" align="left"
width="950" style="text-align: center;"><a
class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/c4f70d06-fbbf-47ca-99d1-9aef2bdd15db?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img
class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/ab100c31-e7fd-44dd-a88e-0a8ea9adf195_950x820.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":820,"width":950,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":127637,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/187172932?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab100c31-e7fd-44dd-a88e-0a8ea9adf195_950x820.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}"
alt="" width="550"
height="474.7368421052632"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!XFa7!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab100c31-e7fd-44dd-a88e-0a8ea9adf195_950x820.png"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</figure>
</div>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">It
should be emphasized that the US economic war
against Iran is bipartisan, and it did not start
under Donald Trump.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">When
the George W. Bush and Barack Obama
administrations imposed illegal unilateral
coercive measures on Iran, they also contributed
to high levels of inflation.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">In
the 2000s, before the US massively escalated its
sanctions on Iran, the country\u2019s inflation rate
was relatively low, bottoming at 10% in 2006.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>That
year, in October, the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/ecb434b9-91e7-4ba6-bfd3-860f98bbe026?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">Bush administration
imposed heavy sanctions on Iran</a><span> and
threatened to sanction non-US oil and gas
companies that invested in the country.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">This
scared off foreign investors and trading partners,
while significantly increasing transaction and
insurance costs for Iranian firms. Inflation
promptly shot up to 17.3% in 2007 and 25.4% in
2008.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Iran
managed to get inflation under control by 2010,
when it fell to 10.1%.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>However,
in July of that year, the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/f97629d9-009a-41b7-bee7-7e421a036e26?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">Obama administration hit
Iran with heavy sanctions</a><span>, while also
threatening sanctions on foreign financial
institutions and companies that worked with the
country.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Unsurprisingly,
inflation skyrocketed over the next three years,
rising to 26.3% in 2011 and 27.3% in 2012, before
peaking at 36.6% in 2013.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
2012, the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/438df3b4-9c20-42f8-83f0-cc2bf5562744?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">Obama White House
published</a><span> a sadistic press release
boasting of how its illegal sanctions were
\u201cgrinding the Iranian economy to a halt\u201d and
\u201ccrippling\u201d it.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Obama
stated:</p>
<blockquote
style="border-left: 4px solid #ad0000;margin: 20px 0;padding: 0;">
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);margin-left: 20px;line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Because
of our efforts, Iran is under greater pressure
than ever before\u2026 Few thought that sanctions
could have an </span><strong>immediate bite</strong><span>
on the Iranian regime. They have, slowing the
Iranian nuclear program and virtually </span><strong>grinding
the Iranian economy to a halt</strong><span>
in 2011. Many questioned whether we could hold
our coalition together as we moved against
Iran\u2019s Central Bank and oil exports. But our
friends in Europe and Asia and elsewhere are
joining us. And in 2012, the Iranian
government faces the prospect of </span><strong>even
more crippling sanctions</strong><span>.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>However,
in 2014, inflation in Iran cooled off
significantly. This was likely due in large part
to the </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/43d50761-8e4d-486d-a84a-8c6f2c9fd7ec?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">interim agreement that
Iran signed</a><span> with Western countries in
November 2013, as part of the negotiations for
the Iran nuclear deal.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Then,
in 2015, Iran and the P5+1 countries (the five
permanent members of the UN Security Council plus
Germany and the European Union) signed the final
version of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
JCPOA was written into international law with UN
Security Council resolution 2231.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">This
agreement lifted sanctions on Iran \u2014 and,
immediately after, inflation fell, reaching the
lowest point in decades in 2016, at just 7.2%.</p>
<div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
<figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
<table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="content" align="left"
width="1456" style="text-align: center;"><a
class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/0ac34f7b-fab4-4d23-8a01-b46152e81792?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
moz-do-not-send="true"><img
class="wide-image"
data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/961db4d6-b8a9-45d0-947a-134723c72fc2_4576x3046.jpeg","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":969,"width":1456,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":4464978,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/jpeg","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/187172932?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F961db4d6-b8a9-45d0-947a-134723c72fc2_4576x3046.jpeg","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}"
alt="" width="550"
height="366.0370879120879"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MX6w!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F961db4d6-b8a9-45d0-947a-134723c72fc2_4576x3046.jpeg"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
moz-do-not-send="true"></a></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<figcaption class="image-caption"
style="box-sizing: content-box;color: rgb(119,119,119);font-size: 14px;line-height: 20px;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: -.15px;margin-top: 8px;width: 70%;padding-left: 15%;padding-right: 15%;text-align: center;">The
signatories of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA)
in 2015</figcaption></figure>
</div>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>However,
Trump came into office for his first term as US
president in 2017, and in May 2018, he </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/5eb5f9f2-6dcc-4684-894a-8ba056a761bf?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">unilaterally withdrew
from the JCPOA</a><span>, sabotaging the
agreement, and reimposed sanctions on Iran, in
clear violation of international law.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Inflation
in Iran then shot up to 39.9% in 2019.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and Iran has
struggled with high rates of inflation (around
40%) ever since, as US sanctions have ripped
through the economy.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
correlation is very clear. And US officials have
not even tried to hide the fact that their
unlawful sanctions have caused inflation in Iran.
Treasury Secretary Bessent is proud of it.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>US
Under Secretary of State Jacob S. Helberg, a
hardline neoconservative hawk, </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/bb4aa990-f8bd-4f8c-9213-5a54920ce926?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">bragged on Twitter</a><span>
that \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s strategy of MAXIMUM
PRESSURE has brought the regime to its knees
[sic]\u201d.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Helberg
did not mention the tens of millions of Iranian
civilians who are suffering from this brutal US
economic warfare, which has intentionally wrecked
their currency and has thus eliminated their
purchasing power, while causing shortages of
crucial goods.</p>
<div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
<figure style="width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;">
<table class="image-wrapper" width="100%"
border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
data-component-name="Image2ToDOMStatic"
style="mso-padding-alt: 1em 0 1.6em;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"></td>
<td class="content" align="left"
width="1177" style="text-align: center;"><a
class="image-link" target="_blank"
href="https://substack.com/redirect/ce138754-cc78-4d5c-996a-97acc3a2fd8e?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="position: relative;flex-direction: column;align-items: center;padding: 0;width: auto;height: auto;border: none;text-decoration: none;display: block;margin: 0;"
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data-attrs="{"src":"https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/0fc795ca-5e3d-421b-ad51-c610e428fff4_1177x1088.png","srcNoWatermark":null,"fullscreen":null,"imageSize":null,"height":1088,"width":1177,"resizeWidth":null,"bytes":500011,"alt":null,"title":null,"type":"image/png","href":null,"belowTheFold":true,"topImage":false,"internalRedirect":"https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/i/187172932?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0fc795ca-5e3d-421b-ad51-c610e428fff4_1177x1088.png","isProcessing":false,"align":null,"offset":false}"
alt="" width="550"
height="508.41121495327104"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ry9Z!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0fc795ca-5e3d-421b-ad51-c610e428fff4_1177x1088.png"
style="border: none !important;vertical-align: middle;display: block;-ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic;height: auto;margin-bottom: 0;width: auto !important;max-width: 100% !important;margin: 0 auto;"
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</figure>
</div>
<h3 class="header-anchor-post"
style="position: relative;font-family: 'SF Pro Display',-apple-system-headline,system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif,'Apple Color Emoji','Segoe UI Emoji','Segoe UI Symbol';font-weight: bold;-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing: antialiased;-webkit-appearance: optimizelegibility;-moz-appearance: optimizelegibility;appearance: optimizelegibility;margin: 1em 0 0.625em 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 1.16em;font-size: 1.375em;">UN
experts: US sanctions are illegal and violate
human rights</h3>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">Independent
experts on international law have said for many
years that US sanctions on Iran are illegal, and
violate human rights.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) has published many reports
denouncing US sanctions.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>A
2019 press release stated that the \u201cimposition
of unilateral coercive measures on Cuba,
Venezuela and Iran by the United States\u201d and
\u201cthe use of economic sanctions for political
purposes </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/2e1fb21e-a606-408e-aeab-c5b3b0006514?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">violates human rights and
the norms of international behaviour</a><span>\u201d.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">\u201cSuch
action may precipitate man-made humanitarian
catastrophes of unprecedented proportions\u201d, the
OHCHR warned.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Prominent
American economists calculated that illegal </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/2ef6d69b-b8bc-42dd-ba1a-48f9d2538d2a?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">US sanctions on Venezuela
caused at least 40,000 deaths</a><span> from
2017 to 2018, in a conservative estimate.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;">The
top UN expert on unilateral coercive measures,
Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy, stressed,
\u201cRegime change through economic measures likely to
lead to the denial of basic human rights and
indeed possibly to starvation has never been an
accepted practice of international relations\u201d.</p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>In
another publication in 2022, a group of UN
experts said that US sanctions were </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/aa4d620f-c6ac-43a1-8176-377105e54ad5?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">violating the human
rights of all Iranians</a><span>.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>\u201cIt
is time for sanctions that impede Iran\u2019s ability
to improve the environment and reduce the ill
effects on health and life, to be eased or
lifted completely so that </span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/523942a2-d75b-4d35-adde-15017c2fd421?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">Iranians can access their
right</a><span> to a clean environment, the
right to health and to life, and other rights\u201d,
the UN experts wrote.</span></p>
<div class="captioned-image-container-static"
style="font-size: 16px;line-height: 26px;margin: 32px auto;">
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alt="" width="550"
height="336.5728021978022"
src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!5Tld!,w_1100,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd07dfad7-2b0c-4aeb-b866-192fa7fee54e_2142x1311.png"
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</div>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;"><span>Western
politicians, such as Andrew Yang, insist that \u201c</span><a
href="https://substack.com/redirect/9ab095a0-b3d8-4ba7-83fd-557bd4f3f63a?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM"
rel=""
style="color: rgb(54,55,55);text-decoration: underline;"
moz-do-not-send="true">the US should help the
people of Iran</a><span>\u201d.</span></p>
<p
style="margin: 0 0 20px 0;color: rgb(54,55,55);line-height: 26px;font-size: 16px;margin-bottom: 0;">If
they truly wanted to help the Iranian people, the
most effective \u2014 and easiest \u2014 thing they could do
would be to lift the illegal sanctions that they
have imposed on Iran, which have intentionally
devastated the economy and caused extreme
suffering to tens of millions of civilians.</p>
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