WASHINGTON, SEP 28: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected Iran to complete its remaining oil shipments to China within two weeks, leaving Tehran with “nothing left to trade for anything” amid an intense economic pressure campaign against the country.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Bessent said only about 15 million barrels of Iranian oil remain out for delivery with the ongoing blockade.
He said that this was evidence that Operation Economic Outcast has left Tehran economically isolated.
“They will have nothing to trade for anything, probably within the next two weeks. They are going to make their final deliveries of oil to China, and then they will have nothing,” Bessent said.
He said he believed Iran was “feeling the pressure,” leading to its renewed interest in striking a deal while also noting that Strait of Hormuz was already open.
“We’re averaging now 15 to 22 million barrels a day. It was at about 20 pre-conflict . . . So think of it this way, Larry,” he said. “The score is the United States, one billion — more than one billion barrels have gotten out — Iran, zero.”
The point of Operation Economic Outcast is to ensure that Iran adheres to the terms of a potential future deal, Bessent added.
“They are isolated from the world. They’re a pariah state. And my job is to make sure that, when they come with a deal, that they want to stick to it,” Bessent underscored. “They did not stick to the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding]. And, next time, if there is a deal — that’s at President Trump’s discretion — that they will stick to it, because they are on their knees.”
