U.S. Treasury Department: Regime In Iran Has Begun Withdrawing Millions Of Dollars From The Country

"The rats are fleeing the ship."

The leadership of the theocratic regime in Iran has begun secretly withdrawing millions of dollars from the country amid mass protests sweeping across the Islamic republic's provinces, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. "We are now seeing rats abandoning ship. We're seeing millions, tens of millions of dollars being smuggled out of the country by the Iranian leadership, we're seeing that money going into banks and financial institutions around the world," he told Newsmax.

The U.S. Treasury Department is tracking these transactions, including transfers through the conventional banking system and through digital assets, Bessent emphasized. "We will track these assets and they will not be able to hold them," the minister said.

He also noted that Washington is impacting the ayatollah regime, which is estimated to have already killed several hundred to several thousand protesters in a crackdown on the protests, through "maximum pressure on Iranian oil exports." That should cut off the regime's sources of funding, Bessent said.

"And what we have seen in the last month is a complete financial collapse of the regime. We're seeing banks going broke. We're seeing inflation. We're seeing a shortage of hard currency," the U.S. Treasury chief said.

On December 28, 2025, the largest protests since the 1979 Islamic Revolution began in Iran. The reason for the protests were economic problems: a spike in inflation and a drop in the value of the local currency. According to human rights activists, more than 2,500 people have died in protests across Iran. Some sources claim more than 20 thousand victims - both demonstrators and security forces. The country has been without internet for a week amid the uprising.

The Times reported earlier, citing intelligence data, that Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had drawn up an evacuation plan in case the authorities failed to quell the protests. Twenty people from his inner circle, including aides and family members, are expected to follow. Former Israeli intelligence official Beni Sabti told the newspaper that Khamenei plans to flee to Moscow.

Khamenei's escape plan from Tehran includes "gathering assets, real estate abroad and cash to ensure a safe departure." The ayatollah owns a vast network of assets, estimated at $95 billion as of 2013.

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