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3. Bessent Says "Starting to See Defections" in Iranian Regime

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed major defections were occuring within the Iranian regime, following increasing economic pressure on Iranian officials, saying, “the regime is in collapse, and the people are starting to turn against them.”

Speaking to Fox News Thursday, Bessent said, "we're starting to see defections at Treasury. We now know where the Iranian leadership bank accounts are, and those are being frozen."

He stressed that the United States "we will hold them,” refering to the bank accounts of individuals in the Iranian regime, and “see who comes forward in terms of defections.”

"We're starting to see defections throughout the regime, and that's how this ends."

Kharg Island

Secretary Bessent, also stressed that the United States was exerting pressure by destroying all Iranian military installations on Kharg Island, a crucial export hub that supports the bulk of Iranian petroleum trade.

Bessent explained that "if you're an oil worker, you don't want to work [on Kharg Island]. So all the oil workers that are being coerced to stay there, and we will see what happens with whether that eventually becomes a U.S. asset," forecasting possible defections among Iranians in the petroleum industry.