Alahyahoo Runbar !
Posted on 01/15/2026 4:48:03 AM PST by MtnClimber
Iranian leaders are moving tens of millions of dollars out of the country as they begin “abandoning ship” amid the deadly protests in Iran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax on Wednesday.
“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. “So they are abandoning ship, and we are seeing it come into banks and financial institutions all over the world.
The ongoing protests in Iran began in response to the country’s plummeting economy, as the rial’s value fell to record lows. In the interview, Bessent attributed the downward spiral of the Iranian economy to the economic measures US President Donald Trump began implementing after being elected.
Bessent: We are approaching Trump's endgame with Iran
“We're quickly approaching the endgame of President Trump's plan that he put into effect almost immediately when he came into office. We've been applying a maximum pressure campaign on Iran's oil exports to cut off the sources of the regime's funding. And what we have seen in the past month is a total financial collapse of the regime.”
After protests began, demonstrations broke out all over the country. The regime responded with deadly crackdowns. Iranian opposition outlet Iran International estimated that over 12,000 people were killed over the course of two days last week, however the true figure is unknown.
US-based Iranian rights group HRANA has thus far confirmed 2,615 deaths, a number that grows every day.
According to the group, 153 of those were either members of the regime’s security forces or government supporters.
Additionally, Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen told public broadcaster KAN News on Thursday morning that Israel had information that protesters had killed hundreds of Iran’s security personnel.
Further, while Trump has said the killings in Iran were "stopping," he has threatened military action against the country if they did not.
European officials on Wednesday evening told Reuters that US military intervention in Iran could come in the next 24 hours.
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
I hope Trump allows Iran to collapse on it’s own.
Thieves and cowards.
I do too.
Yes. Aside from Israel, who in the civilized world stands against Islam?
So they’re finding a use for all that money Biden flew to them.
Don’t be fooled by these fundamentalist wacko Ayatollahs. They are on top of the Iranian food chain. Their extended families are worth billions from skimming oil/gas profits. Other skims n scams too.
Clans and extended families are what rule these Muslim nations and territories. Never waste US lives and trillions on wars, making them Democratic and with women’s rights.
The mullahs are bailing. It’s over.
I used to know some Persian girls in DC. They were completely westernized.
I never once thought of them as Muslims.
Surely we have a way to block these funds
Biden?
Obama…by the pallet
And Clinton by pardoning Iran sanctions buster Marc Rich decades ago
No doubt some lucre benefitted Irans regime
Alahyahoo Runbar !
If the Quisling Puppet Biden was still president he would have been giving the mullahs $trillions to support their dictatorship. The Biden regime was the most corrupt and incompetent regime ever in history.
Back in the ‘50s, the Iran Club at Columbia University was quite active, with lots of social activities. I can confirm that the members were totally westernized.
As usual, the islamic leadership is all big on martyrdom for islam.......
....for everyone except themselves.
Cowards.
Music to my ears. And they must be rounded up with the evidence of looting collected and brought before their people.
See tag line.
Perhaps if Obama didn’t give them the MILLIONS (maybe billions) in CASH, they wouldn’t be flying that cash out of their country.
Maybe there is a spot for these guys in Minnesota.
I was thinking not blocking but taking - as in that’s what you owe for
the demo project we just did on your nuclear development facility.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.