US Treasury chief: Washington may have to ‘escalate to de-escalate’ against Iran

Scott Bessent defends partial lifting of sanctions from Iranian oil to counter price hikes, says US has ‘plenty of money’ for war, after military requested additional $200 billion

The United States may need to “escalate” its attacks against Iran to be able to wind down the war, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, after President Donald Trump offered contradictory trajectories for the conflict with the Islamic Republic.

Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iranian energy plants if Tehran did not fully open the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, just a day after saying US objectives were “very close” to being achieved, and that he was considering “winding down” the war.

Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if Trump was winding down or escalating the war, Bessent said: “They’re not mutually exclusive. Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate.”

“This is the only language the Iranians understand,” he argued.

The US and Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran on February 28 in a bid to destabilize its clerical regime and destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Iran has responded with missile and drone strikes across the region, and with threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global gas and oil supplies flow.

The closure has sent energy prices soaring around the world. As part of efforts to abate market turmoil, Bessent on Friday temporarily lifted US sanctions on Iranian and Russian oil that had already been loaded onto ships.

But the move has produced some backlash, with critics saying it will provide funding to Iran at the same time that the US-Israeli conflict is ongoing.

Asked on NBC about the contradiction, Bessent defended the move as helping alleviate pressure on US partners and lowering the price Iran can receive for its oil.

“That Iranian oil was always going to be sold to the Chinese. It was going to be sold at a discount,” he said. “So which is better? If oil prices spiked to $150 and they (Iran) were getting 70 percent of that, or oil prices below 100?”

‘Plenty of money’

The spike in crude prices has also seen costs at the pump across the United States quickly rise, creating potential political risks for the president just months before the midterm elections.

Bessent on Sunday refused to put a timeline on when Americans should expect prices to moderate, while arguing that the electorate will agree that removing Iran’s nuclear threat will be worth the temporary costs.

“I don’t know whether it’s going to be 30 days. I don’t know whether it’s going to be 50 days. I don’t know whether it’s going to be 100 days,” he told NBC.

“But to have 50 years of peace in the Middle East and know that the Iranian regime is defanged” will be worth it, he added.

Bessent also ruled out pushing for any tax increases to fund the war, and claimed the US government has “plenty of money” to pay for it, but is requesting supplemental funding from Congress to ensure the military is well supplied in the future.

The US military’s request for $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war faces stiff opposition in Congress, with Democrats and even some Republicans questioning the need after large defense appropriations last year. Trump has not yet sent a request for the Senate and House of Representatives to approve the sum, and his administration has made clear that the number could change.

Speaking to NBC, Bessent defended the request without confirming the amount.

“We have plenty of money to fund this war,” he said. “This is supplemental. President Trump has built up the military, as he did in his first term, as he is now doing in his second term, and he wants to make sure that the military is well supplied going forward.”