U.S. Treasury chief Scott Bessent said in Dubai/Washington that the United States will impose the toughest sanctions in history on Iran, promising details next week. He said the move could reduce the need for major military action. The warning followed President Donald Trump’s threat of economic warfare against any country that helps Iran.
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to reporters as he walks to the West Wing following an interview at the White House in Washington, DC, Aug. 20. EPA-Yonhap
DUBAI/WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury chief Scott Bessent said the United States will impose "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, a move he suggested would lessen the need for new major military operations.
Bessent's comments on Thursday followed President Donald Trump's threat a day earlier of "Economic Warfare" and warning of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran." Bessent promised details next week. Oil prices rose to more than a three-week high on Thursday following those U.S. threats of financial penalties aimed at forcing an end to a nearly six-month-old war that has stranded millions of barrels of Middle Eastern oil.
"I'm not sure why oil has popped up on this," Bessent told CNBC. "If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart," he said, using a term referring to military force.
