Speaking on Sunday, March 22 on NBC News ‘“Meet the Press,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backed up President Donald Trump’s ultimatum that Iran open the Strait or Hormuz or the U.S. will bomb its power plants. Bessent said Trump can “wind this conflict down whenever he wants,” but that his threat is necessary because it’s “the only language the Iranians understand.”
In describing the alleged Trump strategy in Iran, Bessent said: “There has been a campaign to use military assets to soften up the Iranian fortifications along the Strait that’s going to continue until they are completely demolished.” Bessent continued, “Sometimes you have to escalate to de-escalate.”
