Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent flipped between outraged, celebratory, and at a loss for words as he fought to justify the president’s lifted sanctions on Iranian oil stored on tankers.
“Why is the U.S. helping to fund a country that it’s currently at war with, Mr. Secretary?” host Kristen Welker asked on Meet the Press Sunday, pointing out that Iran could bank $14 billion from the move.
“Again, Kristen. Why don’t we have good facts here? That Iranian oil was always going to be sold to the Chinese. It was going to be sold at a discount,” Bessent, 63, responded.
He then struggled with his words as he continued: “So which is better, Kristen? The—seven—the—which is better? If oil prices spike to $150 and they were getting 70% of that, or oil prices below a hundred? It’s better to have them where they are now.”
Bessent moved to paint the concessions as a win, proclaiming: “And to be clear, we had always planned for this contingency. About 140 million barrels are out on the water. In essence, we are jiu-jitsuing the Iranians. We are using their own oil against them.”
The former hedge fund founder reasoned that the U.S. would have a “much better line of sight” on the oil if it goes beyond Chinese buyers, and argued that the $14 billion revenue was “grossly overstated.”
As Welker pointed out that he wasn’t “disputing Iran will get the money,” Bessent then chose to pass the buck. “Iran will get a huge amount of the money because it’s a state sponsor of terrorism and China is helping them,” he riddled.
Later, Welker asked: “Isn’t the point that the sanctions were in place to prevent Iran from getting any of the money, and they will have access to the money now?”
Bessent appeared overwhelmed by the questioning and lashed out: “Again, Kristen, you’re missing the point. Please listen to me. They were getting it from China anyway.”
The treasury secretary went on offense again when asked about how much prices would change at home due to the lifted sanctions on 140 million barrels, which amounts to just over a day’s worth of global oil needs.
“Again, Kristen, terrible framing. Terrible framing,” he accused.
“How much can it change prices here at home. Talk to consumers. How much will it change prices here at home?” Welker asked a second time.
“Let me explain,” Bessent said after repeatedly trying to interrupt. “140 million barrels that—about 20 million barrels a day comes out of the gulf. About five million has been repurposed by the Saudis, by the UAE. So we’re at 15-deficit, about 1.5 is Iranian oil that comes out.”
Pausing to clear his throat in the middle of his sentence, Bessent concluded that Iran’s oil could be stretched much further than Welker thought.
“So we are at between a ten and 14 million deficit on a daily basis. So if you think about 140 million barrels, that’s between ten days and two weeks of supply,” he mapped out.
It was announced on Friday that sanctions on Iranian oil—which had been in place for decades—would be lifted, despite Trump’s former complaints that Iran was holding countries “hostage” with an oil monopoly.
Trump has already lifted sanctions on Russian oil this month, after his decision to go to war with Iran saw the Strait of Hormuz become largely impassable. Last week, it was predicted that already-high oil prices could rise to $180 per barrel.
