Iran negotiations: energy, finance, money flows and cryptocurrencies

Editor's note: There is fairly good evidence that what we are witnessing is asset stripping going on under Trump and it appears that if J.D. Vance (likely not his real name) takes over from Trump in 2028, the privatization of the US government will be completed. Does anyone seriously think we can vote ourselves to "freedom?" If Americans think they are going to vote themselves out of the direction this is heading towards with Palantir and the Pentagon taking over, it might be some good advice for Americans to reconsider their financial circumstances and take immediate decisive action. The U.S. Treasury recently froze $344 million held by Iran's central bank in two digital wallets containing Tether (USDT), with Tether cooperating to curb Iranian oil sales. Long promoted as alternatives to traditional banking, stablecoins are widely used globally, with Tether (based in El Salvador) leading the market, handling transaction volumes exceeding Visa and Mastercard and holding hundreds of billions in assets such as U.S. Treasuries and gold. Once seen as decentralized and beyond government reach except in extreme criminal cases, stablecoins are now facing increased scrutiny (see The War on Crypto Was Always About Control). The move rattled crypto markets, while Bitcoin, viewed as truly decentralized, has surged in response.
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Digital ID: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Reveals Trump Plans To Sign Executive Order To Hand Over Biometric Data To Hold A Bank Account

"It's in process, and I don't think it's unreasonable, because: Why don't we have information on who's in our banking system?"

The Winepress | MAY 04, 2026

Earlier last month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that President Donald Trump plans to soon announce and sign an executive order that would allow banks to ask for biometric data to register and hold a bank account, under the guise of tackling illegal immigration.

In February, Semafor reported on rumors of this executive order being in the works. The report noted, however, that REAL ID — that little star on Americans' driver's licenses and IDs — would not be sufficient enough identification and more information would be required.

The outlet wrote at the time:

The Trump administration is considering requiring banks to collect proof of citizenship, like passports, from its customers, people familiar with the talks told Semafor.

The policy would be retroactive, which means banks would have to solicit documentation from current customers as well as future ones, the people said. REAL IDs, which do not prove citizenship, would not be considered eligible.

One financial services lobbyist called the idea a "complete nightmare" logistically. The lobbyist also warned of potential pushback from GOP voters: "The admin might think this is a good idea until Joe MAGA in Alabama is asked to present his papers."

"Verifying every bank customer's citizenship status would be unworkable," said another person familiar with the recent talks. “Such a mandate could force every bank in America to solicit documentation that many everyday Americans do not have on hand. To put that into perspective, the US government has spent the last 20 years trying to encourage adoption of the REAL ID, and even that form of documentation does not constitute proof of citizenship."

Despite spending over two decades getting states and Americans to accept REAL ID, that apparently is not enough for this administration.

The WinePress reported in January that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not consider a REAL ID as sufficient proof of legal residence, despite the fact that naturalized American citizens must have one to enter most federal buildings and in many instances to board a plane.

Show Us Your Papers: DHS Sec. Kristi Noem Confirms That ICE Will Begin Asking Americans To Provide Proof Of Citizenry, But Real ID Will Not Be Accepted

THE WINEPRESS · JAN 18

Read full story

For context, Real ID was approved in the post 9/11 years under the DHS, which acts as a nationally approved ID that is valid in all 50 states, and consolidates other documents such as a passport. Uptick was slow, but on May 7th, 2025, Real ID was mandated in order to pass TSA security at airports, and end enter federal buildings.

However, this is not entirely true as weeks after she made her initial announcement in April, Noem revealed that Americans could still fly as long as they provided a valid passport and other paperwork, as is also explained in the TSA website.

Real ID has faced plenty of scrutiny, not just for being able to travel, but on the additional powers the Real ID act grants to the DHS Secretary. From the bill H.R. 1268:

OFFICIAL PURPOSE- The term 'official purpose' includes but is not limited to accessing Federal facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, entering nuclear power plants, and any other purposes that the Secretary shall determine.

Jon Padfield with Business Reform explained in an excellent report that this opens the door for the standing DHS Secretary to enforce a Real ID check for a number of things, from opening a bank account, to renting vehicles, purchasing a phone, booking a hotel, and so on; which could force businesses to comply as to meet the proper terms of Know-Your-Customer (KYC) laws.

Please go to substack to continue reading.

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What else has Scott Bessant been up to? Argentina's US dollar position is worse now than when they signed the deal:

Scott Bessent working on another $20 billion of Argentina financing with private banks, sovereign funds, 'more focused on the debt market'

Here is an example of what theses bitches of oligarchs, sorry, politicians are paid off for their devious work:

They not like us pic.twitter.com/78hducHDUE

— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) April 29, 2026