U.S. To Focus On Applying Economic Pressure On Iran As War Drags On: ‘Never Been Seen’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. will apply economic measures "that have never been seen on Iran" as the war drags on.

Speaking to Newsmax, Bessent said the tactic "will be a combination of economic isolation like ‌the world has ​never seen before, ​and ​the continued blockade in ‌the Strait of ​Hormuz that will ​keep anything from going in or out of ​the ‌Iranian ports." He did not elaborate further, only saying "just watch this space."

The remarks echo those of President Donald Trump, who claimed economic pressure on Tehran is working.

Speaking to Real America's Voice this week, Trump said the country's economy is in tatters. "They've got 300% inflation. Their currency has almost no value. They're not paying their soldiers. Their soldiers are leaving."

He went on to say that while military options are still on the table, he is leaning towards continuing down the current path: "Economically, they are a mess. They can't borrow money. We control their money, what they had, which is a lot. They had a lot, and we have total control of it. I'm their banker," Trump added.

Perspectives of a deal with Iran continued to fade this week. Trump said on Monday the U.S. will seek compensations from Iran for war damages after Tehran made such a claim during the weekend.

Days later, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that there have been no breakthroughs in the conflict.

"One of the issues that is being discussed ⁠via mediators is the U.S. returning to the interim agreement and defining a timeframe for implementing its ​commitments. There has been absolutely no progress on this issue," the official told the outlet.

Global oil demand continues to drop as traffic through the waterway remains halted. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said it is expected to fall further.

The agency said in a report this week that it expects global demand to drop by 1.6 million barrels a day, a 510,000 increase compared to the July forecast.

Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that having low gas prices in the U.S. is now the administration's "goal number one" in the war. "Obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," he added.