Bessent Says US Is ‘Suffocating’ Iran With Oil Industry Creaking

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US is “suffocating” Iran with economic and financial pressure, suggesting that the rulers in Tehran will eventually buckle.

“We are running a marathon over the past 12 months and now we are sprinting toward the finish line,” Bessent said Sunday on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “They are not able to pay their soldiers. This is a real economic blockade.”

With the US-Israeli campaign of air strikes suspended, Bessent’s comments reflect the Trump administration’s efforts to squeeze the Islamic republic with measures including a naval blockade to cut off Iran’s oil exports, depriving ...