Treasury Secretary Insists Trump Is “Jiu-Jitsuing the Iranians”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended Trump's ultimatum to Iran on Sunday, telling NBC's Meet the Press that threatening to destroy Iranian power plants within 48 hours is "the only language the Iranians understand." Trump posted the threat on Truth Social after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20 percent of the world's oil flows—following U.S. and Israeli strikes that began February 28. Bessent characterized the administration's strategy as "jiu-jitsuing the Iranians" by using sanctioned Iranian oil against them, referencing the recent decision to lift sanctions on roughly 140 million barrels of stranded Iranian crude to relieve oil prices. Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded with a warning that attacks on Iranian infrastructure would make "energy and oil facilities across the region" legitimate targets for destruction. When pressed on whether the Pentagon's reported $200 billion budget request for the conflict would require tax increases, Bessent called the question "ridiculous," citing a trillion-dollar military budget.