Iranian oil storage facilities are filling up quickly due to the US-imposed naval blockade and the country could begin shutting down its drilling wells as early as next week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant told Fox News.
The minister noted that the US continues to “strangle the Iranian regime“ by increasing financial pressure, blocking shipping lanes and freezing assets. He also said that oil prices could fall when more non-Iranian crude comes to the market.
Besant added that US President Donald Trump has ordered the Treasury Department to launch “economic fury“ against Iran. He said the US was closely monitoring financial networks, offshore assets and any attempts to transfer money to Iran in support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“We have been running a marathon for the past 12 months, and now we are heading towards the finish line... We are choking the regime, and they cannot pay their soldiers,“ he said.
After the outbreak of the Iran-Iran war, Tehran declared a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and began mining it. Before the escalation, 15-20% of the world's oil, condensate and petroleum products, as well as over 30% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, passed through it. On April 14, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the US had imposed a full blockade of Iranian ports.
At the end of April, Scott Besant announced that the US had seized nearly $500 million in Iranian cryptocurrency as part of Operation “Economic Fury“.
The minister noted that the pressure campaign against Iran, launched in March 2025 on the orders of Donald Trump, had already led to the collapse of the rial and a deep economic crisis in the country.
A day earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iranians were already feeling the effects of the economic downturn due to the war. According to preliminary estimates by the Iranian Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the war has left about a million people unemployed, directly and indirectly.
On April 28, Besant stated that due to the US blockade of Iranian ports and ships, Iran's oil production "will soon collapse", and the next step for the US would be a shortage of gasoline in the country.