US Treasury chief made the comment after Trump threatened to ‘obliterate’ Iranian energy plants if Tehran did not open the Strait of Hormuz
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 12:42am, 23 Mar 2026The United States may need to “escalate” its attacks against Iran to be able to wind down the war, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump gave seemingly contradictory trajectories for the US military campaign.
“This is the only language the Iranians understand,” he argued.
Iran’s threats against shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global gas and oil supplies flow, have caused energy prices to soar around the world.
