US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that he was uncertain how Iranian officials attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York would return home, as US sanctions disrupt Iran’s international aviation network.
“In terms of Operation Economic Outcast, we are squeezing the Iranians like they've never seen today," Bessent told Fox News. He said that more than 80% or 90% of Iran’s external flights had likely been shut down.
“I would say that the external flights from Iran, probably more than 80 or 90% of them, got shut down. I'm not sure how the Iranian representatives at the UN are going to get home."
Bessent said Washington was also targeting the financial networks supporting Iran. “So we have made it very clear around the world, whether it's the financiers, the people who are doing business to people who are supplying the Iranians, we know who you are, you know who you are, and we are going to prosecute and execute your your companies and your bank accounts every day and every week," he said.
The Treasury secretary had warned Monday that Iranian airlines could be forced to suspend international flights Wednesday because foreign aviation companies providing services to them could face secondary US sanctions.
Bessent also discussed the effort to keep oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz despite the blockade of Iranian ports. He said US forces were helping facilitate the movement of between 10 million and 17 million barrels of oil per day.
“The tankers, they may get hit," Bessent said of the conditions in the waterway. “Many of them just sail on," he added before describing how the Iranians may launch “three, four or five, six drones after them," he said.
“Our great Navy is blocking them, but we are getting between 10, 15, sometimes 17 million barrels a day out," he confirmed.
Bessent compared the current flow with the roughly 20 million barrels transported through the strait each day before the conflict. He said another 3 million barrels were likely moving through alternative routes, bringing the overall figure to between 13 million and 20 million barrels per day and helping explain the decline in oil prices from their spring highs.
He described the broader US pressure campaign as an effort to cut off Iran’s financial resources, arguing that the regime had been “cornered" by a combination of military, economic and financial measures.
“They're cornered animals," Bessent said, adding that the results Washington was seeing were the product of what he called “sequencing."
“The world has never seen anything like this, and it's because of sequencing. So we had six weeks of kinetic activity. We have the blockade, and now we have an effort never seen before in terms of constricting and cutting off the financial oxygen to them," he said.
Bessent said he could not predict how long the pressure would take to produce results. “I don't know whether it's going to be a week, a month or two months, but they're going to yell uncle. And the goal here can be one of three," he said before outlining possible outcomes including the Iranian regime turning against itself or an uprising by the Iranian people.
A third possibility, he said, would be for Iran to agree to a deal and honor its commitments. “And then three, to get the Iranians to, if they want to make a deal, to stick to the deal. We gave the MoU a try on June 3, and then the Iranians, a few weeks later, began firing on ships in the Strait and being very aggressive. And this time, if there is a deal, I guarantee you they're going to stick with it," he said.
Bessent’s comments came as tensions between Washington and Tehran remained high. In his address to the UN General Assembly Tuesday, President Donald Trump identified Iran as a major threat and reiterated his opposition to Tehran acquiring a nuclear weapon.
"There is no better example of a danger that was allowed to gather strength at the world’s peril than the number one sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran. From the first day I entered the political arena, I have been unwavering - I will NEVER allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
Trump said he had offered Iran economic cooperation after taking office in exchange for abandoning its nuclear program and support for terrorism, but claimed Tehran rejected the offer. He also warned that Iran had developed a missile capable of reaching Europe.
"Iran has created a missile that will allow them to strike Europe," Trump warned.
The president said he faces a major decision over the next steps in dealing with Iran, while expressing hope that Tehran would agree to an agreement after the US midterm elections.
"I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness for generations? But I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election, because it doesn’t make sense for them not to."
Despite Trump's speech, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner conducted indirect discussions with Iranian representatives on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
“They successfully completed a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive and promising," Witkoff said, according to Axios, adding that the mediators would continue their work.
Trump said the discussions lasted three hours and that another round would be “scheduled in the very near future." He characterized the meeting as a “very good" and “very productive meeting."
“The mediators were here. Not the highest level, but it’s something," Trump said. “A lot of good thoughts and a lot of things are working out very well."
“They had a very good meeting, and we’ll see how it turns out," Trump added during separate appearances at the General Assembly. “Certainly, it’s to their advantage to make a deal. If we can do that, it’s preferable I guess."