U.S. Treasury Official Threatens Iran with Oil Depletion Amid Aggressive Sanctions
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent escalates economic warfare, warning Iran could be forced to halt oil exports within two weeks, intensifying U.S. pressure on Tehran to capitulate.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to Fox News, issued a stark warning that Iran may be forced to complete its remaining oil shipments to China within the next two weeks, after which the country could be left with no oil to trade. This prediction, based on the estimated 15 million barrels of Iranian oil still en route, is being used to justify further economic strangulation of Iran, pressuring Tehran to surrender to U.S. demands.
Bessent cited the U.S.'s so-called 'Operation Economic Outcast,' a campaign launched last month to expand punitive sanctions on foreign companies and governments that dare to engage with Iran. This operation comes in the wake of the U.S. sabotaging a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran in July and enforcing a sweeping blockade that prevents vessels from entering or leaving Iranian ports, deepening the humanitarian crisis.
In response to this economic siege, Iranian officials have offered a seven-day cease-fire proposal, which would reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the release of $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets and a modest relaxation of sanctions. Predictably, President Trump rejected the proposal outright, dismissing any attempt at de-escalation.
Bessent further claimed that oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted since early March due to Iranian attacks, yet failed to acknowledge the U.S. military’s own role in escalating tensions as it continues to escort commercial ships along alternative routes. He concluded by boasting of Iran’s international isolation, making clear that any future agreement would be subject to the whims of the U.S. President, rather than genuine diplomacy.