Executive Branch

US Looking to Seize Iranian Defectors’ Money: Bessent

Trump said there are ‘a lot of military defections in Iran.’
US Looking to Seize Iranian Defectors’ Money: Bessent
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent addresses journalists during a press statement following a new round of trade discussions with Chinese officials at the OECD Headquarters in Paris on March 16, 2026. Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
Jackson Richman
|Updated:
0:00

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on March 19 that the United States is moving to seize funds transferred abroad by Iranian defectors, as the ongoing conflict with Iran enters its third week.

Speaking in the Oval Office during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Bessent said defections were occurring across multiple levels of the Iranian government and military.

Jackson Richman
Jackson Richman
Reporter
Jackson Richman is a Washington correspondent for The Epoch Times. In addition to Washington politics, he covers the intersection of politics and sports/sports and culture. He previously was a writer at Mediaite and Washington correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. His writing has also appeared in The Washington Examiner. He is an alum of George Washington University.
twitter