Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday defended strikes on Iran’s infrastructure since the US and Israel began their joint war with the country in February, saying “sometimes you have to go up to come down.”
His comments came hours after President Donald Trump tweeted on Truth Social that he was giving Iran’s leadership 48 hours to open the Strait of Hormuz or risk US military strikes “that will strike and destroy THEIR ENERGY SYSTEMS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONES!”
Bessent defended Trump’s speech, saying it was “the only language Iranians understand.”
In the morning of Sunday, the spokesman of the military headquarters of Iran warned that if the US attacks the oil infrastructure, Iran will respond accordingly.
“If Iran’s oil and energy infrastructure is attacked, then the oil, energy, information technology systems and desalination infrastructure used by the United States and the regime in the region will be disrupted,” said Col. Ebrahim Zolfaqari, according to the Iranian news agency IRNA.
The US in recent weeks has avoided striking Iran’s oil infrastructure amid ongoing military strikes on the Middle Eastern nation.
Last week, Trump told NBC News that the U.S. military “completely destroyed” Iran’s Kharg Island, “except, as you know, we didn’t do anything to do with the power lines, because rebuilding that will take years.”
He added in that interview that “we might hit it a few times for fun.”
In the same interview, the president said he was working with international partners on plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key sea route for oil tankers that has been closed since the war began. The shutdown caused oil prices to rise around the world and fuel prices in the US to rise as well.
Bessent on Sunday reiterated comments he made this week about Kharg Island, a critical oil production hub for Iran, when he told Fox Business, “Military assets on Kharg Island were destroyed,” adding: “We’ll see what happens with that — whether that ends up being American property.”
The treasury secretary did not elaborate on what it would look like to make Kharg Island a US property, but told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker that “all options are on the table,” including sending US troops to protect the island.
US officials told NBC News last week that Trump is considering options to send US troops to Kharg Island to protect oil facilities, which are about 15 kilometers off the coast of Iran.
Bessent also defended the Treasury Department’s decision last week to ease some sanctions on Iran by “allowing the sale of Iranian oil that is currently lost at sea,” as the Trump administration seeks to address rising energy costs.
Announcing the move on Saturday, Bessent said it would “immediately bring nearly 140 million barrels of oil to world markets” and help “reduce short-term supply pressures caused by Iran,” although some experts questioned why the US would boost Iran’s economy during the war.
The oil the US allows to be sold, Bessent said on Sunday, “will always be sold to the Chinese” at a discount.
The treasury secretary added that “we have always planned for this crisis” and called the move “jujitsuing the Iranians” by using “their oil against them.”
Bessent demurred when asked why the US would allow Iran to profit from oil, saying, “Iran is already getting a lot of money, because Iran is a major sponsor of state terrorism, and China has been funding them.” This sale, he added, will help the United States’ partners in Asia, such as Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., appeared on “Meet the Press” after Bessent criticized the treasury secretary’s comments, telling Welker, “This administration has completely lost touch with reality. This war is out of control. Prices are going up for millions of Americans.”
The senator responded directly to Bessent’s comments about needing to increase the war before reducing it by comparing the Iran conflict to previous wars.
“It’s like they’ve never read a history book,” Murphy said. “That’s exactly what our leaders said in the middle of Vietnam and 20 years of mismanagement in Afghanistan.”
“We need to end this war,” the Connecticut senator said.
