Scott Bessent teases Trump's next Iran move: 'Watch this space'

WASHINGTON, DC: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday, August 14, that the Trump administration will unveil new economic measures against Iran next week without disclosing what they will entail.

The measures are intended to increase pressure on Tehran to return to negotiations over ending hostilities and fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Bessent made the announcement on Friday during an appearance on Newsmax’s ‘Rob Schmitt Tonight’, where he offered no details.

Scott Bessent gives few details on Iran measures

“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures the likes of which have never been seen in the history of the economic isolation of a country,” Bessent said.

The Treasury chief said the measures would mark another escalation in the administration’s effort to cut off money flowing to the Iranian government. 

He said President Trump ordered the Treasury to “apply maximum pressure to the Iranian regime” as the administration turns to economic warfare.

Bessent said the approach would combine financial restrictions with the existing naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. 

“It will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports,” he said.

Since the order, Bessent said the administration has targeted Iran’s “bank accounts, crypto wallets, [and] assets around the world,” while working to stop payments to the regime and its proxies.

Trump pushes pressure on Tehran

The administration has already imposed a naval blockade that Bessent said has cost Tehran roughly $4.8 billion in oil revenue. 

The economic measures are being presented alongside continued military pressure.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the US military could maintain the blockade “indefinitely,” with the Navy rotating ships in and out of the region.

“Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama.

Trump has also re-upped claims that the US has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply. 

On Truth Social, he called the naval blockade “A WALL OF STEEL” and said Iran had no money and that the country was “shot.”

USS Lincoln conditions remain under scrutiny

Hegseth’s comments came as media reports said the USS George Washington was headed to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed for more than 250 days in the Middle East.

The George Washington strike group departed Vietnam on August 12, the Navy said.

Hegseth also disputed reports about conditions aboard the Lincoln, saying reports of food shortages, declining morale and attempts by sailors to jump overboard were “completely misrepresented.”

Rep Mike Levin, D-Calif, said he sent a letter to Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao expressing serious concerns about conditions aboard the carrier.

“The reports coming from military families and loved ones about the conditions aboard the USS Lincoln are simply unacceptable,” Levin’s letter said, citing concerns including moldy showers, broken toilets, a lack of hot water and fresh produce, and ongoing supply shortages.

Iranian media had claimed Tuesday that seven US Navy personnel were killed and several wounded in a violent clash on the Lincoln.

US Central Command separately said reports alleging a brawl aboard the carrier were false and that no service members had died.