During Wednesday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. objective in dealing with Iran could lead to one of three possible outcomes: infighting within the regime, an uprising by the Iranian people or a negotiated agreement.
“We had six weeks of kinetic activity, followed by the blockade, and now we’re carrying out an effort unlike anything seen before to restrict and cut off their financial oxygen,” Bessent said. He added that he could not predict whether the pressure would last “a week, a month, or two months,” but said Iran’s leaders would eventually “yell uncle.”
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Bessent said the first possibility was that members of the Iranian regime could turn against one another, calling that outcome “not impossible.” The second was an uprising by the Iranian people, though he said that would be difficult because the regime had “probably killed 50,000 of their own population.” The third option, he said, was reaching an agreement that Iran would honor. Bessent noted that President Donald Trump said at the beginning of August that he did not believe Iran was ready for a deal. The administration attempted to pursue a memorandum of understanding on June 3, but Bessent said Iran began firing on ships in the strait and acting aggressively several weeks later. “This time, if there is a deal, I guarantee you, they’re going to stick with it,” he said.