‘Why Would I Want to Blow Up the Global Financial System?’ Scott Bessent Gets Snippy With Reporter Pressing Him

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was pressed on his so-called “economic D-Day” against Iran while speaking to reporters Monday.

“You described this as an economic D-Day, but D-Day wasn’t a threat of an invasion, and the U.S. didn’t give a timeline to Germany,” a reporter asked. “So why not impose the sanctions today?”

A visibly frustrated Bessent answered, “Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior. Why would I want to blow up the global financial system? We believe that it is important to level set and give people a cure period, but they should know that that will move very quickly and that we are serious.”

“Sanctions are a very powerful tool,” he added. “So we believe that a warning shot and a level set of expectations is appropriate, and if people do not want to meet our expectations, then we expect and they should expect that they will leave the dollar system.”

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump threatened via Truth Social to unleash the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY” that would include “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale.”

He also wrote, “This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat. These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide. IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”

Trump has repeatedly insisted a deal between the U.S. and Iran is near, but has nearly just as frequently contradicted his own statements on the topic.

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