Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that he would hold a press conference on Monday "to talk about exactly what we're going to do" on Iran.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran" as the United States looks to resolve a war it began alongside Israel nearly six months ago.
"I think oil markets are misinterpreting what this economic pressure means," Bessent told CNBC. Oil
prices climbed to more than three-week highs on Thursday,
"We have asymmetric information, and I'm not sure why oil has popped up on this," Bessent said. "If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart."
When asked if the United States could target China for doing business with Iran, Bessent said many conversations were best to have in private.
"We are confident that everyone wants the Strait (of Hormuz) reopened, and for energy prices to come back down," he said. "Keep in mind that the Chinese get 50% (of their) energy from inside from the Gulf. So it would do them a big service to get with the program."
In a social media message on Wednesday, Trump promised "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale," although details were scant.
Iran has weathered continuous punishing economic sanctions for nearly 50 years, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi called Trump's comments an attempt to divert American public opinion from domestic financial problems, including record debt and rising interest rates.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; writing by Michelle Nichols; editing by Katharine Jackson and David Ljunggren)
