Treasury Secretary Bessent Presses Iran Sanctions

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said sanctions could avert new U.S. strikes on Iran.

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Bessent Says He Doesn’t “Really Understand” Oil Price Spike After Trump Announces “ECONOMIC D-DAY” on Iran

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday maximum economic pressure on Iran makes a “large-scale kinetic restart” of U.S. operations unlikely, after Trump threatened “Economic Warfare and Isolation” against Tehran. He told U.S. allies they are “either with us or against us” on sanctions. Asked about an oil-price spike, Bessent said he did not “really understand” it and called 24-hour moves “noise.” Bessent also said the deficit likely has peaked after July’s $432 billion shortfall, as Treasury doubled longer-dated debt buybacks.

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Implausible Oil ConfusionLeans Left

Scott Bessent’s claim of confusion over the oil-price spike is not credible because the cause was apparent. Trump’s escalating threats and promised sanctions against Iran were obvious drivers of turmoil in oil markets, making Bessent’s downplaying of the spike look incompetent or indefensible.