Iran and Bessent are waging a financial war!
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on his social media account about foreign exchange swap measures taken by certain Arab countries, which involve the disorderly sale of U.S. assets. However, special clauses mean that some institutional holders cannot freely sell their bonds.
Ghalibaf said: "Act now while you still have the chance! If the situation escalates, the door will close. Make your escape while it's still open. The frontline in our counterattack against U.S. financial aggression is the yield curve."
Ghalibaf’s warning is a response to U.S. financial warfare.
The United States issued new sanctions against Iran on the 24th, with the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updating the "Specially Designated Nationals List" as part of this round of adjustments targeting Iran.
Treasury Secretary Bessent announced that the Treasury would launch an "economic fury" campaign, continuing to systematically undermine Iran’s ability to access, transfer, and repatriate funds. OFAC has imposed sanctions on multiple "wallets" linked to Iran, freezing approximately $344 million in cryptocurrency assets. The U.S. will identify funds that Iran desperately seeks to move abroad and take action against all financial lifelines closely tied to the Iranian regime.
Bessent, aligning with Trump, aims to cut off Iran’s funding sources and force Tehran back into diplomatic negotiations.
Closely related is recent diplomacy between the UAE and other allies with the United States over financial assistance packages, including proposals for currency swap arrangements.
Asian nations, facing capital outflows and rising risk-aversion sentiment, continue to see pressure on their local currencies and urgently need dollar liquidity.
It somewhat resembles the Hong Kong dollar defense battle nearly two decades ago.
Currency swaps have thus become a new tool to maintain order in the U.S. dollar financing market and prevent the disorderly dumping of U.S. assets.
Bessent and the Treasury are determined to preserve "dollar hegemony" (with the Fed not cooperating), while Ghalibaf and Iran’s measures are specifically targeted at these so-called currency swaps and the dollar’s dominant position.
However, Ghalibaf is challenging none other than the financial tycoon Bessent himself—once a partner at Soros Fund Management’s London office, who famously shorted the pound and yen on a massive scale. The financial battlefield is Bessent’s comfort zone.
Challenging the U.S. on this front is extremely dangerous.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863391931873416/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of its author