- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran will have no oil shipments or revenues this week
- The US campaign against Iran includes military action, blockade, and economic isolation stages
- Bessent called the current phase Operation Economic Outcast to isolate Iran economically
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran will have no oil shipments at sea this week and no related revenues, as Washington steps up its economic pressure on Tehran under what the US administration calls Operation Economic Outcast.
Speaking to The Axios Show, Bessent said the US campaign against Iran had moved through several stages, from military action to a blockade and now an intensified effort to isolate the Iranian economy.
“For the first time in history, since they started pumping oil, they will have no oil on the water this week,” Bessent said, according to Axios. “They will have no revenues.”
Also Read | Layoffs Are Rising In Tech, But These Skills Are Helping People Unlock Better Pay
ALSO READ: US Weaponises Dollar In Bid To Ground All Iranian Airlines By Sept 23
Bessent described the measures as part of a broader sequence in the US approach to the Iran conflict. He said Washington first relied on military action, followed by what President Donald Trump has called the Iron Wall and a blockade, before turning to economic isolation.
“We had kinetic [action], we destroyed their navy, their air force, substantially depleted their drone and missile capability, destroyed their chances of rebuilding that,” Bessent said, as quoted by Axios.
“Then we went to what the president calls the Iron Wall and the blockade, which we've never done before. And now we have Operation Economic Outcast and we are isolating them economically like it's never happened before,” he added.
Bessent also said the Treasury secretary's role had involved far more national-security responsibilities than he had initially expected. He recalled that Treasury Secretary Mnuchin had warned him about the national-security dimension of the job before he took office.
The Treasury chief compared navigating the Iran conflict to playing cards or backgammon rather than chess, saying events had produced more possible sequences than expected.
“I play backgammon. I play cards, and you've got to deal with what you're dealt,” Bessent said.
He also pointed to oil flows through the Strait as a measure of the impact of the US campaign. According to Bessent, the US had about 1.1 billion barrels moving out of the strait, while Iran had none.
ALSO READ: Treasury Secretary Scott Urges Fed To Keep 'Open Mind' On US Inflation Outlook
The comments come as Washington seeks to tighten economic pressure on Tehran alongside military and maritime measures. Bessent said the different stages of the campaign were interconnected and that the latest phase was aimed at cutting Iran off economically.
Separately, Bessent said he remained optimistic about the eventual outcome of the Iran conflict and predicted that wage gains would continue, citing what he described as a US manufacturing renaissance.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
