US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Iran has only about 30 million barrels of crude oil left that China has not already bought.
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, 6 September, Bessent said US sanctions and a naval blockade were preventing Tehran from sending out new oil shipments.
China remains the main buyer of Iranian oil, but Bessent said the remaining supply would soon run out, leaving Beijing with little or no Iranian crude left to purchase.
He described the US campaign, known as “Operation Economic Outcast”, as an unprecedented effort to isolate Iran economically. He said the combination of sanctions and the naval blockade was having a major impact on Tehran’s ability to export oil.
Bessent also predicted that the Strait of Hormuz could become less important to the global oil industry within the next two years. He said Gulf oil producers were developing alternative pipeline routes that would allow crude to bypass the strategic waterway.
He rejected the suggestion that Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, saying the United States is in control of the waterway.
The comments come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with US measures aimed at restricting Iran’s oil exports and cutting a major source of government revenue.
