On the War's 100th Day, Washington Weighs Seizing Iran's Frozen Billions

As the United States and Israel's war on Iran reached its 100th day, Euronews reported that Washington is considering reallocating frozen Iranian funds, and ships it has previously seized, to pay for damage from attacks on Gulf states. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has now directed a team to assess the cost of damage already inflicted on Gulf allies, a step that would convert sanctions into outright confiscation, a move with consequences far beyond Iran.

Tehran frames the pressure as a siege. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the effects of war, sanctions and a trade blockade cannot be separated from the country's economic conditions, warning state media against concealing the strain, according to the state agency IRNA. The remark is an unusual acknowledgment from a sitting president that the maximum-pressure campaign is causing serious harm.

The military picture has escalated. United States Central Command said it shot down four Iranian drones aimed at Hormuz shipping, and Iran then fired seven ballistic missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, six of which were intercepted, causing material damage in Kuwait but no casualties. The United States struck Iranian radar sites in response, while Pakistan's interior minister traveled to Tehran to press for de-escalation, The Hindu reported. By Al Jazeera's count, the war has killed thousands and displaced many more across the region.

For the global monetary order, the asset question matters most. An adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Mohsen Rezaei, said a ceasefire hinged on the release of 24 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets, even as Washington moved to redirect such funds to Gulf states. Each seizure of sovereign reserves gives non-Western states another reason to hold gold and to settle trade outside the dollar. The maximum-pressure tools that project American power also accelerate the slow search for alternatives to it.