Bessent Warns Iran Will Have “Nothing Left to Trade” Within Two Weeks

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted Sunday that Iran’s economy will soon run out of anything to sell, as the U.S. blockade of Iranian oil nears its end game. Appearing on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Bessent said Tehran’s final oil shipments to China are nearly complete. “I am confident, given that there are only 15 million more barrels of Iranian oil on the water, that Iran will have nothing left to trade for anything,” he said.

Bessent put a clear clock on the regime’s economic collapse. “Probably within the next two weeks, they are going to make their final deliveries of oil to China, and then they will have nothing. It is an empty set, and I believe they are feeling the pressure here and that’s why they want a deal,” he said. He summed up the pressure campaign bluntly: “The score is United States, one billion — more than one billion barrels have gotten out — and Iran, zero.”

Details & Background

The United States and Israel first struck Iran on February 28, 2026, and the Trump administration has since combined a naval blockade of Iranian ports with a sweeping sanctions campaign called Operation Economic Outcast. The campaign targets Iran’s aviation, digital assets, gold, technology and shipping sectors. As far back as August 31, Bessent warned the regime’s economy could collapse “within weeks or months” and said Iran was “lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically.” According to Iran International, Turkish and UAE banks have since halted transactions with Iran, and several countries have suspended Iranian airline operations.

Bessent’s remarks came just days after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days in exchange for lifting the blockade and resuming nuclear talks. Trump told Axios that Tehran “overplayed their hand.” Bessent dismissed the offer as meaningless, telling Fox, “The straits are open,” and arguing that oil is moving through the waterway at roughly pre-war levels without Iranian barrels. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has reported flows averaging nearly 13 million barrels a day through the corridor.

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Bessent made clear that any future agreement will come on America’s terms. “My job is to make sure that, when they come with a deal, that they want to stick to it,” he said, adding that Iran will comply because “they are on their knees.” Trump has struck a similar tone, declaring that Iran is “losing so badly” as he turned down the seven-day proposal. Mediators are still working with both sides on a possible deal, according to officials cited by the Associated Press on Monday.

Iranian officials have signaled they are waiting on a formal U.S. response through mediators. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said only a negotiated solution can break the deadlock, according to Iran International, while Tehran has warned shipping companies against using unauthorized routes through the strait and threatened U.S. forces if fighting resumes. At home, Democrats have questioned the strategy. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Sunday that Trump is “stuck” in the war “without an exit strategy.”

Why This Matters to You

The Iran war has already pushed energy prices higher and put American service members in harm’s way. The administration’s approach is to squeeze Tehran’s finances until the regime has no choice but to negotiate, rather than expanding the military fight. If Iran’s oil revenue truly dries up within weeks, the regime will lose the hard currency it needs to pay for imports, fund its military and keep its government running.

That pressure could decide how and when the conflict ends and what kind of nuclear deal emerges. A deal that Iran is forced to keep could mean more stable gas prices, fewer threats to U.S. troops and allies in the region, and a weaker regime that has sponsored terrorism for decades. The next two weeks may reveal whether economic force can accomplish what years of diplomacy could not.