Bessent: China has “significantly reduced” support for Iran — U.S. sends envoys to isolate Tehran economically

Washington has stepped up economic pressure on Tehran: the United States has sent special teams to various countries to push them to isolate Iran economically, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says China has “significantly reduced” its aid to the Iranian regime, as Al Jazeera reports.

“I am convinced, given that only 15 million barrels of Iranian oil remain at sea, that Iran will soon run out of money for its terrorist activities,” Bessent told reporters. “Perhaps within the next two weeks, they may make their last oil shipments to China,” he added. According to Bessent, Tehran proposed a peace deal with Washington precisely because it is “feeling the pressure”.

Iran’s response was swift. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected the U.S. initiative in a post on X, accusing Bessent of speaking as if the world were Washington’s “property”. “Independent governments define their relations with Iran on the basis of their own interests and priorities, not on the will of others,” Gharibabadi wrote. “The era of imposing one’s will through threats and sanctions is coming to an end,” he added.

The U.S. economic pressure campaign comes at a time when the U.S. maintains an economic and naval blockade against Iran, aimed at stopping Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most critical energy routes.