Bessent said new land-based oil pipelines will reduce the Strait of Hormuz’s importance, as Washington steps up efforts to isolate Iran’s economy amid renewed tensions and attacks on shipping
As countries develop new export pipelines, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday said the Strait of Hormuz will soon have no value as an oil conduit.
According to The National report, speaking at the G20 finance ministers meeting in North Carolina, Bessent also said the US in the next two weeks is likely going to announce actions on banks with links to the Iranian regime, as the Trump administration seeks to “asphyxiate” the regime’s economy.
Bessent said that while Iran is trying to use the Strait of Hormuz as a choke point, the waterway does not constitute a choke point for the US.
“It’s not a choke point for the US but it is a choke point for many, many other countries,” The National quoted him as saying, noting that the strait would soon be “bypassed”.
“In two years, the Strait of Hormuz will be a worthless piece of water. The oil will be going on pipelines across the land,” he said.
Last month, Bessent told a news station in Arizona that the strait is “never going back to the way it was”, and estimated that up to 70% of the energy that typically passes through the waterway could eventually be transported via pipelines.
More from World
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. While volumes have increased in recent weeks, they remain well below pre-conflict levels.
Bessent has been holding talks with his counterparts in Asheville this week as Washington seeks to build international support for isolating Iran’s economy.
The US recently expanded the scope of secondary sanctions it can impose on countries and businesses that engage with Tehran, while warning that entities doing so could be cut off from the dollar-based financial system.
“We are speaking with our allies here. We all come forward, and will get a great show of support whether it’s from the EU, the ECB, the UK, the UAE,” he said.
“The economic outcomes could not have happened without the initial kinetic success,” he added.
Bessent’s comments come after a fresh incident in the Strait of Hormuz amid the renewed US-Iran conflict.
Three “unknown projectiles” struck a tanker while it was completing an outbound transit of the strait, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Monday.
“A tanker has reported being struck by 3 unknown projectiles whilst completing an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz,” UKMTO said on X.
The incident took place 17 nautical miles, or 31 kilometres, east of Khasab, Oman. No casualties or environmental impact had been reported, the British maritime agency said.
The incident has added to concerns over the safety of shipping through the strategically important waterway as fighting between the US and Iran continues.
With inputs from agencies