The world’s finance ministers are gathering in Asheville this week for a G20 meeting, but one of the most consequential issues on US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s agenda is not simply economic growth.
It is Iran.
The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an international forum that brings together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies to discuss and coordinate economic policy. Its participants represent about 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population, according to its website. The G20 was established in 1999 in response to financial crises with the goal of promoting international financial stability.
Bessent is using the gathering to press other countries to cut financial ties with Iran as the Trump administration escalates its economic campaign against Tehran.
The meeting also comes as the administration pushes a broader growth agenda centered on energy, manufacturing, technology, artificial intelligence, debt and financial regulation.
For Western North Carolina, the international meeting also provides a high-profile showcase less than two years after Hurricane Helene impacted communities across the region.
Bessent announced the new Iran campaign, called Operation Economic Outcast, on Aug. 24. He described it as an effort to cut off the financial networks that allow Iran to generate revenue, evade sanctions and support its military and security apparatus.
“In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries,” Bessent said during a press conference. “In that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe.”
The objective, he said, is to “sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
The announcement is particularly significant as Bessent meets with foreign counterparts in Asheville.
Treasury says the operation targets financial channels and other networks Iran uses to move money internationally. The department said the campaign includes increased sanctions risks involving digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
Bessent also warned foreign financial institutions that continuing to facilitate Iranian transactions could jeopardize their access to the U.S. financial system.
“Any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the U.S. dollar system,” Bessent said. “The clock just started ticking.”
The Treasury secretary said the United States was allowing other countries to change course before facing additional penalties.
“We believe that it is important to level set and give people a cure period, but they should know that that will move very quickly and that we are serious,” he said.
Iran meets economic diplomacy
The timing places Iran directly into the financial discussions taking place in Asheville at the Omni Grove Park Inn.
Bessent told reporters that the United States is communicating with foreign governments about what Washington expects them to do, while declining to identify all of the countries involved.
“We know who they are. They know who they are,” Bessent said. “So when the hammer of U.S. Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”
This is not the first time world leaders have gathered there to discuss international relations.
The administration’s approach is intended to make economic pressure an extension of national security policy.
Bessent said the United States wants to prevent Iran from using international financial networks to fund activities Washington considers threats, including nuclear and missile programs.
Treasury’s Aug. 24 action included sanctions against more than 60 entities, individuals and vessels connected to Iranian nuclear and missile technology procurement, cyber operations and oil revenue, according to the department. The campaign has continued since the initial announcement.
On Aug. 28, Treasury proposed cutting off the United Arab Emirates operations of Banque Misr from correspondent access to U.S. financial institutions. Treasury said the bank processed approximately $1.8 billion between January 2024 and June 2026 for companies potentially connected to Iranian shadow-banking networks.
That action illustrates the kind of financial pressure Bessent is taking to Asheville.
Growth is another priority
Iran is only one part of the G20 agenda.
Bessent said in a news conference on Aug. 20 that he wants the United States to use its leadership of the G20 to promote economic growth, including energy production, manufacturing, technology and financial reforms.
The broader strategy is important because the countries represented in Asheville account for a large share of global economic activity.
Bessent has also connected economic growth with America’s ability to manage its debt.
The US national debt recently passed $40 trillion, a milestone Bessent acknowledged in remarks outside the White House.
“The 40 trillion is a big number,” Bessent said. But he argued that the long-term answer is economic growth combined with efforts to reduce the federal deficit.
“And what we’re going to do, we have to grow our way out of this,” he said.
Bessent also said he and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought have been tasked with developing a fiscal consolidation plan.
The economic discussions come as the administration continues to defend its tariff policies and as questions remain about the effect of tariffs, refunds and trade disputes on federal revenues and international relationships.
Western North Carolina’s role
The location itself is part of the administration’s message.
“The selection of historic Asheville reflects the Trump Administration’s commitment to the revitalization and resilience of western North Carolina, which continues to rebuild after the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene,” Bessent said. “The meeting brings finance ministers, central bank officials and other international economic leaders to the region as well as private business leaders.”
Local officials and tourism leaders have said the meeting is expected to produce significant spending while giving Asheville international exposure at a time when communities are still rebuilding from Helene nearly two years later.
Bessent, a South Carolina native, has also highlighted his personal ties to Western North Carolina. He has a home in Jackson County and grew up visiting Saluda, in Polk County.
The administration has characterized the Asheville meeting as both an international economic gathering and an opportunity to showcase the area’s recovery.
The event also puts western NC at the center of discussions that could affect everything from international banking and energy prices to manufacturing and technology investment.
What happens next?
The immediate question is whether Bessent can persuade other G20 members to align with the U.S. campaign against Iran.
That may be complicated by competing economic interests. China remains one of Iran’s major economic partners, while other countries have significant commercial relationships with Tehran.
Bessent has made it clear that he intends to use the leverage of the U.S. financial system.
“No one is above the reach of US sanctions,” he said.
That message is now being delivered as finance ministers sit down in Asheville.
