Bessent: Iran economic pressure may reduce need for major US strikes

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington’s plan to intensify economic pressure on Iran could reduce the need for major military operations against the country.

“If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” Bessent said in an interview with CNBC on August 20.

His comments followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Washington would impose major penalties on countries providing Iran with “any type of lifeline” as part of a campaign to isolate Tehran economically.

“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat,” Trump said in a post on August 19.

The announcement came as the conflict with Iran approached its six-month mark, with no clear indication of an imminent diplomatic or military resolution.

Oil prices rose following Bessent’s comments. He said the US would pursue “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world” against Iran.

Bessent added that he would hold a news conference on August 24 to “talk about exactly what we’re going to do.”

By Sabina Mammadli