U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent: "Iran's Export Crude Oil Stockpiles Will Run Out Within Two Weeks"

[Financial News] Scott Bessent of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) said Iran's export-bound crude oil would run out in about two weeks and that the country was under pressure to reach a deal with the United States.
In an interview with Fox News on the 27th local time, Treasury Secretary Bessent said Iran currently had only about 15 million barrels of crude oil stored at sea. He forecast that the oil Iran can sell to China and other countries would run out within the next two weeks.
Bessent said Iran appeared to be under heavy pressure and added, "As a result, they want a deal."
Iranian government officials said that day that they were awaiting an official response to the ceasefire proposal they had submitted to the United States, but President Donald Trump rejected it.
Trump said, "They are losing and want a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "That's because no money is coming in."
U.S. government officials said Iran's demand was for the United States to first release $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, worth approximately 16.3 trillion South Korean won, making the proposal unacceptable.
Iran also demanded that sanctions on Iranian oil and the blockade of Iranian ports be lifted.
Since last week, the United States has adopted a policy of sanctioning countries that provide refueling or other services to Iranian-flagged aircraft.
Bessent said on the 26th that the United States had dispatched special envoys to some countries to urge them to sanction Iranian airlines and banks.
He said Türkiye and Oman had banned Mahan Air passenger aircraft from landing, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had also suspended flights operated by all Iranian airlines.
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) blocked transactions by branches of Bank Melli Iran on the 23rd, saying the bank had violated laws related to money laundering, terrorism and weapons proliferation.
Türkiye also revoked Bank Mellat's operating license.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Jonathan Burke, a deputy secretary at the United States Department of State (State Department), had traveled throughout the Middle East and Europe over the past two weeks to explain plans for economic sanctions against Iran.
Bessent emphasized that Iran was beginning to appear economically isolated as a result of the "economic outcast" operation.
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