US may ‘escalate to de-escalate’ attacks against Iran, says Scott Bessent

The United States may need to “escalate” its attacks against Iran to be able to wind down the war, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday, after US President Donald Trump gave seemingly contradictory trajectories for the US military campaign.

“This is the only language the Iranians understand,” he argued.

Iran’s threats against shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global gas and oil supplies flow, have caused energy prices to soar around the world.

But the move has produced some backlash, with critics saying it will provide funding to Iran

at the same time that the US-Israeli conflict is ongoing.