The U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, stated this Friday that any possible easing of sanctions or economic punishment imposed on Iran will be applied in a phased manner and not immediately.
"We'll see. Any measure that is lifted, will be lifted little by little," he stated during the National Reagan Economic Forum, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, when asked about the continuation of the economic embargo against the Middle Eastern country.
The Treasury official also emphasized that "there will be objectives that the Iranian regime will have to meet," alluding to the conditions Washington will demand from Tehran to modify the current sanctions regime, and recalled the measures announced the previous day against several Iranian entities. "We sanctioned their two airlines," he emphasized, underlining that, although a formal agreement with the Iranian authorities has not yet been reached, "we continue to maintain the blockade and pressure them and (...) every day that passes is much worse for them."
Bessent also pointed out that the U.S. administration has "other financial objectives," without offering specific details, and stressed that "there is much more we can do, if necessary, that we can lift to help the Iranian people."
In his speech at the same forum, the Treasury Secretary revealed that the United States has seized "about a billion dollars" (more than 850 million euros) in crypto assets belonging to Iran, as part of the actions promoted by his department in the context of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran.