‘Have to escalate to de-escalate’: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defends military actions in Iran
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Have to escalate to de-escalate’: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defends military actions in Iran")
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump is keeping all options on the table. Photograph: (AFP)
On being asked if US troops would be sent to Iran’s Kharg Island, Bessent said the US had a very successful bombing campaign on the island and that President Donald Trump is keeping all options on the table and is ramping up its attacks on Iran.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that President Donald Trump is keeping all options on the table and is ramping up its attacks on Iran, as “sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate”. Bessent also defended Trump’s rhetoric, saying it’s “the only language the Iranians understand," and supported strikes on Iran’s infrastructure.
On being asked if US troops would be sent to Iran’s Kharg Island, Bessent said the US had a very successful bombing campaign on the island and repeated that “all options are on the table”.
He also said that Trump has “very clear goals” of destroying Iran’s navy and air force, its missile capability, and its ability to replenish its weapons. The US will also make sure that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon, he added.
Bessent’s comments came hours after President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was giving Iranian leadership 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk US military strikes that “will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”
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Replying to Trump’s threat, a spokesperson for Iran’s military command headquarters warned that Iran will respond in kind if the US strikes take place.
“If Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked, then fuel, energy, information technology systems, and desalination infrastructure used by America and the regime in the region will be struck,” Col. Ebrahim Zolfaqari said, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
The US has so avoided striking Iran’s oil infrastructure amid the ongoing conflict.
‘We have sufficient funds to sustain ongoing war’
The Treasury Secretary also said that the US has sufficient funds to sustain its ongoing war effort against Iran but is seeking additional “supplemental” funding from Congress to ensure long-term military readiness.
Bessent addee that the request for additional funds of around $200 billion is aimed at strengthening future preparedness rather than addressing any immediate funding shortfall.
“We have plenty of money to fund this war. This is supplemental,” Bessent said, adding that President Trump wants to ensure the military remains “well supplied going forward.”
Bessent also defended the Treasury Department's decision last week to ease certain sanctions on Iran by “permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea,” as the Trump administration seeks to address rising energy costs.
Bessent said it would “quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets” and help “to relieve the temporary pressures on supply caused by Iran,” though some experts questioned why the US would boost Iran economically amid the war.
