Iran has 30 million barrels of oil left for China, says Treasury Secretary Bessent

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Iran has roughly 30 million barrels of crude oil still floating on the water, most of it destined for China, and that the clock is running out on Tehran’s ability to ship more. In an interview with Fox News, Bessent framed the dwindling supply as proof that Washington’s sanctions-and-blockade strategy is working, with the goal of forcing Iran back to negotiations over its nuclear program. That 30-million-barrel figure sounds large until you consider context. At China’s recent import pace, it represents less than two months of purchases. And once it’s gone, Bessent argued, Iran’s primary revenue lifeline effectively goes dark. Operation Economic Outcast and the supply squeeze The pressure campaign has a name: Operation Economic Outcast, launched on August 24, 2026. The initiative rolled out aggressive secondary sanctions targeting not just oil transactions themselves but the infrastructure surrounding them, including shipping companies, aviation networks, gold markets, and technology sectors that Iran has used to circumvent prior restrictions. The results have been measurable. Chinese imports of Iranian crude fell to an estimated 534,000 barr...