U.S. Escalates Pressure on Iran as Treasury Warns Oil Output May Halt Within a Week

Overview

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran may have to shut oil wells within about a week because storage is filling and infrastructure is under strain.
• Bessent urged China and U.S. allies to join a U.S.-led escort of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, noting Beijing buys most of Iran’s energy exports.
• He said the U.S. holds “absolute control” of the strait and aims to move 4 to 5 tankers a day to ease an 8 to 10 million barrel daily shortfall in global supply.
• Bessent said 150 to 200 supertankers are waiting to depart the Persian Gulf, which could quickly add millions of barrels to market flows once convoys run.
• U.S. authorities are tracking offshore Iranian assets to preserve them for the Iranian people after the conflict, and a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has been in place since April 13.