Bessent Pushes G20 Allies to Isolate Iran Economically — SkimNews
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- Bessent is hosting G20 finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday, seeking to rally allies to economically isolate Iran as the war passes the six-month mark and after the U.S. struck Iran again on Sunday.
- Bessent told the AP the Treasury plans sanctions on another bank and is prepared to use "financial violence," though Trump has not followed through on his earlier "economic D-Day" threat against Iran.
- China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, is the central obstacle: Bessent said "all options are on the table" to sanction Beijing for continued purchases, yet insisted U.S.-China alignment exists on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and blocking Iran's nuclear program.
- Daniel Fried, former assistant secretary of state for European affairs, warned the U.S. may "find it difficult to rally its usual friends and allies" given recent tariff aggression and the unpopular war.
- Trade friction with Canada spiked after a breakdown in negotiations led to escalating tariffs, adding another diplomatic strain on Bessent's G20 agenda.
- Bessent is using Asheville — devastated by Hurricane Helene in September 2024, which killed more than 250 people and caused nearly US$80 billion in damage — as a symbolic backdrop for his growth agenda of deregulation, energy independence, and sovereign debt restructuring.
Why it matters: Fried's warning that the U.S. may struggle to rally allies captures the diplomatic cost of waging tariff fights with partners like Canada while pushing an unpopular war with Iran. Bessent's contradiction — threatening China with sanctions while claiming U.S.-China alignment on Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program — shows Beijing is the real pressure point, since without cutting off Chinese oil purchases, Iran has little economic reason to capitulate.
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