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As tensions simmer and the world watches, the US Treasury unveils a clandestine exodus of wealth from Iran, hinting at deeper undercurrents of change.
02:10, Thu, Jan 29, 2026 Updated: 02:11, Thu, Jan 29, 2026
Washington is tracking what he described as a surge of capital flight by Iran's ruling elite (Image: Getty)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday Washington is tracking what he described as a surge of capital flight by Iran's ruling elite, as fears grow over the possible collapse of the Islamic Republic amid unrest and threats of a US strike.
"As Treasury who carries out the sanctions we can see is we are now seeing the rats fleeing the ship because we can see millions, tens of millions of dollars being wired out of the country, snuck out of the country by the Iranian leadership," Bessent said in an interview with Newsmax. "So they are abandoning ship, and we are seeing it come into banks and financial institutions all over the world," the Treasury Secretary added.
Protests evolved into regime-change movement
Iran's nationwide protests began in late December 2025 over economic grievances but quickly evolved into an openly regime-change movement, with demonstrators calling for the end of the Islamic Republic itself.
Security forces responded by using live fire against protesters, killing as many as 12,000 people, according to Iran International's findings with unofficial NGO estimates putting the horrific figure to upward of 30,000 tragically killed.
Still, threats by US President Donald Trump to launch strikes against Iran have left the fate of the country's leaders in limbo.
US Treasury Secretary vowed to trace the huge sums of money wired out of Iran (Image: Getty)
US will trace Iran leaders' assets abroad
During his Wednesday interview, the US Treasury Secretary pledged to track the massive amounts of money transferred out of Iran by the country's leaders.
"What we do at Treasury is we follow the money, whether it is through the banking system or through digital assets. We are going to trace these assets and they will not be able to keep them."
Separately, Israel's Channel 14 reported on Wednesday that Iran's leaders have transferred $1.5 billion to escrow accounts in Dubai over the past two days.
"1.5 billion dollars have been transferred out of Iran in the last hours, not through banks but via cryptocurrency with one clear destination: Dubai," the report said citing a source familiar with the Revolutionary Guard's economic activities.
Supreme Leader's son allegedly moved $328m
The report alleged that the Supreme Leader's son and one of his potential successors Mojtaba Khamenei is one of the people involved in these transfers.
"He transferred about $328 million to that same destination," Channel 14 said citing the unnamed source.
Iran has increasingly leaned on cryptocurrency rails to move money abroad as sanctions and banking restrictions complicate traditional transfers.
US Treasury actions in 2025 described "shadow" networks using overseas fronts and crypto transactions tied to Iranian oil revenue, portraying digital assets as one way to bypass chokepoints in the regulated financial system.
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The USS Abraham Lincoln is already within striking distance of Iran (Image: Getty)
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US armada heads to Middle East
Iran is on high alert over a possible US attack after President Donald Trump revealed that "another beautiful armada" is heading to the Middle East, as claims emerge that the regime has massacred 30,000 protesters.
Clearly displaying their air power the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft-carrier group entered the Central Command's zone of responsibility on Monday.
At a speech at an event in Iowa, President Trump hailed the arrival of US forces: "By the way, there's another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran right now."
"So, we'll see," Trump told Axios on Monday that the situation in Iran was "in flux," and that the American military presence in the waters near Iran was bigger than the one he had deployed near Venezuela.
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