‘Rats in sewer pipe’: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Iranian leadership sitting in the dark, unaware of realities

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday issued a blunt warning to Iran’s leadership, apparently comparing them to “rats in a sewer pipe” that are not aware of “what’s going on in the outside world," and said it should realise and accept the realities.

In a blunt post on X, Bessent went on to state how the US has “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz, besides the fact that Iran faces a dollar shortage, has put in place food and gasoline rationing, and that the “entire international community” has turned against Tehran. Bessent concluded the post by defending President Donald Trump’s naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “The BLOCKADE will continue until there is pre-February 27 Freedom of Navigation.”

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The US Treasury Secretary said in his post, “It is very difficult for rats in a sewer pipe to know what’s going on in the outside world. Some colour for the Iranian Leadership as they literally sit in the dark: 1. The United States has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. 2. There is a hard currency, i.e. U.S. dollar, shortage. 3. Food and gasoline rationing are in place. 4. The entire international community has turned against you. 5. The BLOCKADE will continue, until there is pre-February 27 Freedom of Navigation.”

The US naval blockade has turned the tables on Iran, which for years survived financial pressure by selling oil to China via shadow ships by defying US sanctions.

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Tehran attacked ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz and shut down commercial traffic, blocking oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

The US blockade shut down Iran’s network of shadow ships, which clandestinely transferred their cargoes to China. After the blockade, these tankers have been unable to breach the cordon of US warships that have chased them all the way to the Indian Ocean.

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The spiralling crisis has reportedly split Iran’s political system between moderates like President Masoud Pezeshkian and the hardliners including Saeed Jalili, who leads the most conservative faction.

The moderates prefer negotiating a favourable deal with President Trump, who seems eager to end the war. The moderates fear that Iranians are growing tired of the conflict after an initial nationalist uptick.

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Trump has asked his aides to prepare for an extended blockade that could remain in place until Iran accedes to his nuclear demands. “The blockade is genius, OK, the blockade has been 100% foolproof,” he told reporters.

The war has impacted Iran’s economy heavily, as more than a million people are out of work, food prices are soaring and a prolonged internet shutdown has smashed online businesses. Iran’s economy is facing the risk of collapse as the value of its currency has more than halved since a year ago, and the US dollar’s exchange rate surged to 1.81 million rials.