Bessent Says He Doesn’t “Understand” Oil Price Spike After Trump War Escalation

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with a donation of any size. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confusion as to why crude oil prices rose on Thursday, hours after Donald Trump threatened yet another escalation against Iran nearly six months into the war that has thrown global oil markets into chaos. Speaking to reporters, Bessent brought up the rise in oil prices as he discussed the muted effect of the Treasury Department’s surprise bond buyback announcement yesterday, saying that the department is “trying to bring the market back into equilibrium.” “We’ve got a spike in oil prices today that I don’t really understand,” he said. “Our announcement is for economic action, and I think that the economic action will mean that oil prices will come down sooner,” he said. Bessent was referring to Trump’s threat , issued Thursday morning, of imposing an “ECONOMIC D-DAY” on Iran — yet another escalation that had no immediate effect on Iran’s obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz. Related Story News | War & Peace Trump Says He’ll “Bomb the S—” Out of Oman If Country Makes Deal With Iran The threat comes the same day that the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding would have expired. By Chris Walker , T ruthout August 17, 2026 Truthout “I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. He pledged to take action against any country whose institutions “provide any type of lifeline to Iran,” without specifying what such action could look like. The U.S. already has a wide-ranging economic sanctions regime against Iran that has hardened in recent months, as Trump administration officials search for an exit route for the war. Oil prices rose by 3 percent after Trump’s announcement, reaching a three-week high . Bessent told CNBC in separate comments that he thinks the rising prices are a response to a misinterpretation of Trump’s announcement. “I’m not sure why oil has popped up on this, because this — for now, for now, and it is at the president’s discretion — if we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” Bessent told CNBC . “But I would emphasize that is for now.” The secretary further said that the U.S. is hoping to “collapse” the Iranian government, in what he called the “greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.” Oil prices rose a further 2 percent after Bessent’s own pledge to destroy Iran’s government. The announcement came just three days after Trump threatened to “bomb the shit” out of Oman if the country “gets in the way” of negotiations to open the strait. Oman, a key strategic ally of the United States, is in talks with Iran about managing maritime traffic through the strait. The administration’s economic threats, like his many similar prior sentiments, are unlikely to convince Iran to end the war or reopen traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Indeed, traffic through the strait remained low on Thursday, and Iranian officials dismissed the threats. “The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat — and enmity of Iranians. U.S. economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide.” An important fundraising appeal: We have until midnight to raise $11,000 Truthout is one of only a few platforms for justice-oriented, grassroots journalism. Today, as political censorship from the right intensifies, we have no choice but to ask for your help. We are fundraising right now to cover our basic operating expenses. If you can support Truthout with a one-time or monthly donation, you will make a significant impact on our work. Anything you can do makes a difference — we appreciate your support. 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Prohibited: You cannot use this work for commercial purposes. Article HTML Republish HTML code for copying <h1>Bessent Says He Doesn’t “Understand” Oil Price Spike After Trump War Escalation</h1> By Sharon Zhang This article was originally published by <a href src="https://truthout.org/articles/bessent-says-he-doesnt-understand-oil-price-spike-after-trump-war-escalation/">Truthout</a> Oil prices rose after Trump threatened “ECONOMIC D-DAY,” then again after Bessent vowed to “collapse” Iran’s government. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confusion as to why crude oil prices rose on Thursday, hours after Donald Trump threatened yet another escalation against Iran nearly six months into the war that has thrown global oil markets into chaos. Speaking to reporters, Bessent brought up the rise in oil prices as he discussed the muted effect of the Treasury Department’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-20/bessent-s-plan-at-best-circuit-breaker-for-global-bond-slump">surprise bond buyback</a> announcement yesterday, saying that the department is “trying to bring the market back into equilibrium.” “We’ve got a spike in oil prices today that I don’t really understand,” he said. “Our announcement is for economic action, and I think that the economic action will mean that oil prices will come down sooner,” he said. Bessent was referring <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117124650907675461">to Trump’s threat</a>, issued Thursday morning, of imposing an “ECONOMIC D-DAY” on Iran — yet another escalation that had no immediate effect on Iran’s obstruction of the Strait of Hormuz. “I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. He pledged to take action against any country whose institutions “provide any type of lifeline to Iran,” without specifying what such action could look like. The U.S. already has a wide-ranging economic sanctions regime against Iran that has hardened in recent months, <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/report-trump-admin-is-crowdsourcing-ideas-for-ending-war-in-iran/">as Trump administration officials</a> search for an exit route for the war. Oil <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/oil-prices-jump-3-trump-140315827.html">prices rose</a> by 3 percent after Trump’s announcement, reaching <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-steady-investors-assess-us-iran-war-outlook-2026-08-20/">a three-week high</a>. Bessent told CNBC in separate comments that he thinks the rising prices are a response to a misinterpretation of Trump’s announcement. “I’m not sure why oil has popped up on this, because this — for now, for now, and it is at the president’s discretion — if we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/20/cnbc-exclusive-transcript-us-treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-speaks-with-cnbcs-sara-eisen-on-squawk-on-the-street-today.html">Bessent told CNBC</a>. “But I would emphasize that is for now.” The secretary further said that the U.S. is hoping to “collapse” the Iranian government, in what he called the “greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.” Oil prices <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/20/oil-prices-brent-wti-hormuz-trump.html">rose a further</a> 2 percent after Bessent’s own pledge to destroy Iran’s government. The announcement came just <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/trump-says-hell-bomb-the-s-out-of-oman-if-country-makes-deal-with-iran/">three days after</a> Trump threatened to “bomb the shit” out of Oman if the country “gets in the way” of negotiations to open the strait. Oman, a key strategic ally of the United States, is in talks with Iran about managing maritime traffic through the strait. The administration’s economic threats, like his many similar prior sentiments, are unlikely to convince Iran to end the war or reopen traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Indeed, traffic through the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/business/iran-war-oil-bonds.html">strait remained low</a> on Thursday, and Iranian officials dismissed the threats. “The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs,” <a href="https://x.com/araghchi/status/2090316936206790973">said</a> Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat — and enmity of Iranians. U.S. economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide.” <hr> This <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/bessent-says-he-doesnt-understand-oil-price-spike-after-trump-war-escalation/">article</a> was originally published by <a href="https://truthout.org">Truthout</a> and is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)</a>. Please maintain all links and credits in accordance with our <a href="https://truthout.org/republishing-policy">republishing guidelines</a>. Copy this HTML code to republish the article on your website Close Copy HTML This article is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) , and you are free to share and republish under the terms of the license. Sharon Zhang Sharon Zhang is a news writer at Truthout covering international affairs, politics, and labor. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter and Bluesky . Truthout

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