Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the relaxation of sanctions on Iranian oil and the U.S. military strikes on Tehran’s infrastructure Last week, the Treasury Department relaxed certain sanctions on Iran, thereby permitting the sale of Iranian oil that was previously stranded at sea. On Sunday, Bessent, on “Meet the Press” on NBC News, explained that this move was designed to tackle the escalating energy costs. He also announced that this decision is expected to introduce approximately 140 million barrels of oil into the global markets, thereby relieving temporary supply pressures instigated by Iran. Despite the ongoing conflict, the decision to economically empower Iran was questioned by some experts. To this, Bessent responded that the oil was always meant to be sold to China at a discounted rate. He referred to the decision as “jujitsuing the Iranians” by turning their own oil against them. When questioned about the potential impact on consumer prices, Bessent refrained from providing a specific timeline but said, “50 days of temporary elevated prices, prices will come off on the other side for 50 years of not having an Iranian regime with a nuclear weapon.” Iran Conflict Sparks Full-Spectrum Shock The Iran conflict, now 21 days old, has led to unprecedented changes across all major asset classes, including commodities, equities, and bonds. This systemic repricing, compressed into a matter of weeks, is not just an oil story but a full-spectrum energy shock. At 5:15 am ET, Brent crude oil was trading 1.97% higher at $108.51 per barrel. Meanwhile, the average gas prices climbed to $3.956 and diesel to $5.81 per gallon, as per AAA. Meanwhile, the standoff with Iran is now intertwined with a tactical question: whether Washington will transition from air and sea pressure to a physical hold on Iran’s key export node. This comes after Donald Trump‘s warning to Iran’s leaders to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. strikes on power plants. On this, Bessent called the campaign on Iran successful and said that Trump “is leaving all options on the table.” The Treasury Secretary stated that escalation in military actions is sometimes a prerequisite for de-escalation. He stood by the Trump administration’s stance, asserting that such language is the only one “the Iranians understand.” Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock © 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the relaxation of sanctions on Iranian oil and the U.S. military strikes on Tehran’s infrastructure Last week, the Treasury Department relaxed certain sanctions on Iran, thereby permitting the sale of Iranian oil that was previously stran…
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The Houthis in Yemen have announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping through Red Sea ports, including at the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The group, described as Iran-backed, stated the measure would target the top oil exporter following recent exchanges of fire.
Reports indicate this could add to existing maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to US-Iran confrontations.
A Reuters poll of economists conducted July 7-16 shows that most Gulf Cooperation Council economies are now projected to contract more sharply in the current year than estimated three months earlier, with median forecasts indicating declines of 8.1% for Kuwait and Qatar, 5.
1% for Bahrain, and 0.5% for the UAE. Saudi Arabia and Oman remain the only GCC economies expected to expand. The poll links the revisions to reduced export volumes through the Strait of Hormuz, higher freight costs, and weaker investor sentiment, even as oil prices have risen.
Initial reports indicate that a limited number of vessels transited the waterway during the first full day after the United States implemented a naval blockade of Iran. These observations have not been independently verified.
The head of the UN’s nuclear agency yesterday signaled that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the US and Iran to reach an end to their war. The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi was the firmest yet from the agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iran’s nuclear stockpile.
Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran last year, the IAEA has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons.
Photo: AP Iran has said that its program is peaceful, although it would be the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity without a weapons program. The US and Iran offered contradictory remarks on Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected.
“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a memorandum of understanding, signed by both presidents,” Grossi told journalists at a news conference at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The accord “explicitly states that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with the regards of the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters,” he said. “Obviously, to do that, we have to inspect,” Grossi added.
BOOST: By operating the same advanced systems as the US military, Taiwan would be better positioned to share and integrate intelligence with partners, an expert said The first batch of MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones has arrived in Taiwan, and is being assembled and tested by drone manufacturer General Atomics and the military ahead of flight trials as part of the air force’s acquisition to bolster its aerial surveillance capabilities, a source said yesterday.
The air force allocated a budget of NT$21.7 billion (US$687 million) from 2022 to 2029 to procure four MQ-9B uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured by General Atomics along with associated equipment such as ground control stations. The US has agreed to deliver the four MQ-9Bs to Taiwan in two batches this year and next ‘BRAZEN’: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwan’s maritime jurisdiction, but the CGA is ready to defend the nation, Kuan Bi-ling said Beijing is intensifying maritime pressure on Taiwan, but the nation will never yield, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Sung Chen-en (宋承恩) said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a “shadowing and monitoring” approach to avoid falling into a Chinese trap to escalate tensions and deepen the conflict, Sung said in an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper).
China Coast Guard formations patrolling waters east of Taiwan, as well as official Chinese vessels entering areas around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) show Beijing’s attempts to significantly step up Taiwanese firms’ China investments have dwindled to less than 1 percent of their total foreign investments, putting China-based investments on track for a record low this year, Ministry of Economic Affairs data showed.
Taiwan’s investments abroad in the first five months of this year reached US$35.92 billion, Department of Investment Review data showed. Investments outside China totaled US$35.61 billion, up 133.94 percent year-on-year, while investments in China totaled US$310.
3 million, down 32.3 percent and about 0.86 percent of the total, data showed. Major overseas projects included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) US$30 billion capital injection into an overseas subsidiary, VARYING OPINIONS: People with different political affiliations have different views on how bilateral ties with the US, Japan and China would affect Taiwan’s security Two-thirds of Taiwanese view closer US and Japan ties as beneficial to security, a survey by Taiwan’s top military think tank showed.
To gauge the Taiwanese public’s perceptions of how different external relationships affect security, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commissioned a survey by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center asking respondents whether closer relations with the US, Japan and China would strengthen or weaken Taiwan’s national security.