Oil prices rise 2% after Treasury Secretary says U.S. will collapse Iran with economic pressure
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Oil moved higher Thursday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. will impose the toughest sanctions in history against Iran.
"We have the blockade and we are going to have the toughest sanctions in history," Bessent told CNBC in an interview. "This will work. It worked in Venezuela once we put up the blockade. It is working in Cuba right now and it is going to work in Iran, and we are going to collapse this regime."
Brent crude futures , the international benchmark, rose 2% to reach $93.52 per barrel by 12:36 p.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 2.5% higher at $87.94.
Bessent said he will hold a press conference Monday to lay out President Donald Trump's plan to wage "economic warfare" against Iran.
Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with the "MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!" in a Truth Social post. The president said any country that does business with Iran will face economic consequences.
Oil prices rose more than 3% earlier in the session on Trump's threat. Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that the market was misinterpreting the president's comments. The U.S. ramping up economic pressure means there likely will not be a return to large-scale combat operations, he said.
"I'm not sure why oil has popped up on this," Bessent said. "If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart."
The oil price rise also comes after the UAE said Wednesday it was halting all trade and financial transactions with Iran after the Gulf state said it had come under fire from the Islamic Republic on Tuesday.
WTI. The UAE, one of Iran's key commercial partners, said two ballistic missiles had been launched toward its territory from Iran. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei denied the strikes.
The move heaps further pressure on Iran, which is already facing economic sanctions from the U.S., and pushes the prospect of any renewed ceasefire agreement further from view.
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