US Treasury Secretary: Iran resorts to hostile military moves as economic losses mount
Pace links Iranian escalation to economic losses and confirms continued pressure
Translated by Qiyas from السياسة — Original source
- Tehran takes sanctions seriously... and we will continue the policy of maximum pressure
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that Iran is resorting to “hostile” military moves amid growing economic losses resulting from the “economic pariah” campaign recently launched by the United States against it.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Twenty (G20) countries in North Carolina, Bessent said, “Iran is responding with military aggression because U.S. sanctions are inflicting economic damage on its regime.”
He added that Tehran takes the sanctions seriously, affirming that President Donald Trump’s administration would continue its policy of maximum pressure.
Bessent viewed the collapse of the Iranian economy as “not inevitable,” but stressed that the Iranian regime needs to “exercise restraint and return to the negotiating table in earnest.”
His comments came after Iran launched ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan, in response to U.S. strikes targeting launch platforms belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Larak Island.
Earlier on Monday, Trump announced that the United States would respond “forcefully” to Iran’s overnight attack on U.S. forces in Jordan.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) had announced on Sunday that it had carried out a “limited and precise” operation against IRGC forces engaged in mine-laying operations that posed an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz.
