Watch: Bessent Says Iran Now on Its Knees As Final Oil to China Dries Up

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is, as I have said many times, the best Secretary of the Treasury since Alexander Hamilton. He has been turning the financial screws tighter and tighter on Iran. He is very likely hurting the mullahs and what's left of the regime more than American and Israeli high explosives have done, and now he's making a bold prediction: Iran is running out of oil it can trade, and they will be broke in two weeks.

That would be good news indeed.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicted Sunday that Iran will complete its remaining oil shipments to China within two weeks, leaving Tehran with "nothing left to trade for anything" as the Trump administration intensifies its economic pressure campaign against the regime.

Bessent said only about 15 million barrels of Iranian oil remain out for delivery now that the U.S. is blockading the ports, describing the dwindling shipments as evidence that Operation Economic Outcast has left Tehran economically isolated.

"They will have nothing to trade for anything, probably within the next two weeks. They are going to make their final deliveries of oil to China, and then they will have nothing," he said.

Secretary Bessent made those remarks on Sunday, speaking on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures with Larry Kudlow. Watch:

"They are isolated from the world... they are on their knees."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explains how U.S. sanctions are putting Iran's economy under tremendous pressure amid the ongoing conflict. pic.twitter.com/2AAQVjjTxL

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 27, 2026

Secretary Bessent says:

They are isolated from the world. They are a pariah state. And, my job is to make sure that when they come with a deal, that they want to stick to it. They did not stick to the (Memorandum of Understanding). And, next time, if there is a deal, that's at President Trump's discretion, that they will stick to it. Because they are on their knees. 

Let's hope that proves true. We do know that China is a primary customer for Iranian oil. We also know that Iran's economy is heavily dependent on oil sales. The United States has largely cut off those sales, and has cut off Iran's access to the international banking community, and the U.S. has even successfully cut off part of Iran's commercial air travel; perhaps even most of it. Oil is in fact heading out through the contested Strait of Hormuz into the international market; the administration claims 15 to 22 million barrels a day. That's comparable to the roughly 20 million barrels per day, pre-war. Or, as Secretary Bessent puts it, a billion barrels have gotten through the Strait since March; but none of the oil getting out now is coming from Iran.

That's a heck of a squeeze to be in.

Things will be growing very spare in Tehran in the next few weeks. Oh, what's left of the top tier no doubt have golden parachutes, assets safely tucked away in someplace like Switzerland or the Cayman Islands. And that's how we'll know the curtain is coming down; when those regime principals start heading for Moscow, or Pyongyang, or whatever feces-hole that will have them. But when they start to bail, then maybe, just maybe, the people of Iran can take their country back.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are once again respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.

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