Economic war: US boasts of "collapsing" Iran's economy with sanctions episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 7, 2026 · 26 MIN

Economic war: US boasts of "collapsing" Iran's economy with sanctions

from Geopolitical Economy Report · host Ben Norton

The United States is waging medieval economic war. Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran is "designed to collapse its already buckling economy", boasted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ben Norton explains how the US is trying to suffocate Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba by collapsing their currencies and causing extreme inflation, using illegal sanctions and blockades. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AQWr6Rtybg Topics 0:00 Economic war 1:02 USA has sanctioned 1/3rd of countries 1:40 Sanctions kill 560,000 people per year 2:46 US sanctions on Iran 3:54 Trump threatens to bomb Iran (again) 5:20 Map of US troops in Middle East 6:58 Economic war against Iran 8:21 (CLIP) Scott Bessent: "Collapse" Iran 10:17 (CLIP) Bessent: Crash Iran currency 11:13 (CLIP) Bessent: Stop Iran oil exports 11:34 Dollar hegemony & financial system 12:33 "Making Iran broke again" 13:09 Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman 14:20 Inflation & US sanctions on Iran 20:40 Goal: "hunger, desperation and overthrow" 22:25 "Make the economy scream" 23:15 More US sanctions 23:50 UN experts: US sanctions are illegal 25:25 How to help the Iranian people 26:29 Outro

The United States is waging medieval economic war. Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran is "designed to collapse its already buckling economy", boasted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ben Norton explains how the US is trying to suffocate Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba by collapsing their currencies and causing extreme inflation, using illegal sanctions and blockades. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AQWr6Rtybg Topics 0:00 Economic war 1:02 USA has sanctioned 1/3rd of countries 1:40 Sanctions kill 560,000 people per year 2:46 US sanctions on Iran 3:54 Trump threatens to bomb Iran (again) 5:20 Map of US troops in Middle East 6:58 Economic war against Iran 8:21 (CLIP) Scott Bessent: "Collapse" Iran 10:17 (CLIP) Bessent: Crash Iran currency 11:13 (CLIP) Bessent: Stop Iran oil exports 11:34 Dollar hegemony & financial system 12:33 "Making Iran broke again" 13:09 Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman 14:20 Inflation & US sanctions on Iran 20:40 Goal: "hunger, desperation and overthrow" 22:25 "Make the economy scream" 23:15 More US sanctions 23:50 UN experts: US sanctions are illegal 25:25 How to help the Iranian people 26:29 Outro

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Economic war: US boasts of "collapsing" Iran's economy with sanctions

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This episode was published on February 7, 2026.

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The United States is waging medieval economic war. Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran is "designed to collapse its already buckling economy", boasted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ben Norton explains how the US is trying to...

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