Iran's Parliament Speaker Rebukes US Treasury Secretary Over Foreign Spending

Overview

• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly accused Iran of "squander[ing] enormous sums abroad" while Iranians struggle to afford basic necessities.
• Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf replied on X, accusing the United States of "funneling billions to its terrorist proxy, Israel, and 750 bases" and directly challenging Bessent’s credibility.
• Ghalibaf’s post, published from his @mb_ghalibaf account, framed the US as prioritizing overseas allies over its own citizens in response to Bessent’s comments.
• Middle East Eye captured the exchange in a live blog on 27–28 August 2026, and there are no reports of a follow-up statement from the US Treasury or other US officials responding to Ghalibaf’s post.
• The public back-and-forth reflects a wider pattern of Iran–US rhetorical escalation where leaders use social platforms to shape domestic opinion and complicate diplomatic engagement, a dynamic that could harden positions and affect negotiations.