US Treasury chief says IRGC moves money offshore as Iranians cross border for cooking oil
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused IRGC leaders of trying to funnel money into offshore accounts while ordinary Iranians are being pushed into cross-border trade for basic goods, pointing to a New York Times report on Iranians carrying cooking oil from Turkey into Iran.
“I am amazed that the IRGC has forced the invention of a completely new type of oil trading – in cooking oil,” Bessent wrote on X.
He said the Islamic Republic’s “colossal economic mismanagement” had forced Iranians “to barter to feed their families, and to become dependent on their neighbors,” while IRGC leaders tried to move more money offshore.
The New York Times reported from the Kapikoy crossing on Turkey’s border with Iran that Iranians have been buying bottles of olive, sunflower and corn oil in Turkey to resell inside Iran or use at home, as prices for basic goods surge.
The report said demand for cooking oil at the border had risen in recent days, turning a basic household product into a small cross-border trade amid Iran’s inflation crisis, layoffs, war disruption and internet shutdown.
The newspaper added that the Kapikoy crossing has become one of the few durable links between Iranians and the outside world during the war, as air travel was disrupted for much of the past two months and the government-imposed internet blackout continues.
The pressure on households has intensified after Iran removed subsidies on imports of some essential goods in January, a move that pushed up cooking oil prices. The government later offered direct monthly cash payments of about 10 million rials, or around $7, but economists cited in the report said that was unlikely to meaningfully ease the burden.
Bessent said that under President Donald Trump, the United States was committed to supporting “the freedom and dignity of the Iranian people after 47 years of corruption.”
