Iran will soon run out of oil to sell to China and will have nothing left to trade, “probably in the next two weeks,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
“There are only 15 million more barrels of Iranian oil on the water, then Iran will have nothing left to trade for anything,” Mr. Bessent said. “I believe they are feeling the pressure here and that’s why they want a deal.”
Mr. Bessent said Iran is seeking a ceasefire deal because “they are on their knees,” economically amid U.S. sanctions and the Trump administration’s move last week to sanction any country that services Iranian airliners.
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Iran is blocked from transporting oil through the Strait of Hormuz thanks to a U.S. military blockade of its southern naval ports. Iran is said to be looking for alternative shipping routes.
Iranian officials said Sunday they are awaiting an official response to their ceasefire offer, but President Trump publicly rejected it on Saturday, making essentially the same argument as his Treasury secretary.
“They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they’re losing so badly. … We’re winning tremendously,” Mr. Trump said. He said Iran is “dying … because they have no money coming in.”
U.S. officials said Sunday the Iranian offer is a nonstarter because it would first require the United States to release $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, lift Iranian oil sanctions and end the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, among other conditions.
The United States last week began imposing strict sanctions on any country that allows Iran to refuel or service its airplanes — a move aimed at crippling Iranian air travel.
The U.S. has also sanctioned three banks, including the second-largest bank in Egypt and a Turkish bank.
Mr. Trump is threatening to resume bombing Iran if the Iranians won’t agree to a ceasefire deal acceptable to the United States.
America’s aim in a final deal is to ensure Iran can never produce a nuclear weapon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday Tehran won’t back down on the terms of its ceasefire offer, “even if it comes to a doomsday war.”
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