Bessent told the Economic Club of New York on Thursday that the Trump administration also intends to cut off Tehran’s access to the international financial system.
Trump reimposed his pressure campaign on Iran through a presidential memorandum on February 4. Two days later, the U.S. Treasury Department started imposing sanctions on an international network shipping Iranian oil to China.
Trump launched that campaign during his first term in office after he withdrew the United States from a landmark deal on Iran’s nuclear program in 2018. He resumed the campaign early this month, just two weeks after returning to the White House.
Despite reinstating the policy, the U.S. president has spoken of his readiness to negotiate a deal with Iran.
The Islamic Republic, however, has ruled out the possibility of direct talks with the U.S. as long as the “maximum pressure campaign” is in place.
