Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the restrictions have jeopardized the dollar’s position.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, President Donald Trump has mandated a review of US sanctions policy with the goal of intensifying the impact on countries such as Iran and Russia.
In a Fox Business interview on Tuesday, Bessent criticized the previous administration’s “lackadaisical” sanctions, claiming they were ineffective and detrimental to the US.
Bessent stated, “For a long time, we’d have what I always called lazy sanctions. They would just sit there. We think it threatens the dollar’s reserve currency status.”
He further added, “We come in, we hit them hard, we hit them fast, we hit them heavy. And that’s what we are doing with Iran. So we’re calling it Operation Maximum Pressure.”
Bessent cautioned that the US might escalate sanctions against Russia if negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict fail. He noted, “We will be able to get [Moscow] to the table without increasing the sanctions, but all options are on the table.”
In recent years, the US has increased or implemented sanctions on Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
Moscow has denounced the sanctions as illegitimate, while also contending that they have strengthened Russia’s independence and resilience. President Vladimir Putin stated on Tuesday that the national economy has continued to expand despite foreign pressure.
During a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) in Moscow, Putin accused the West of exploiting the Ukraine conflict to eliminate Russia as a competitor.
He said, “The sanctions are not temporary or targeted measures. It is a mechanism of systemic, strategic pressure on our country.” Putin added that the West would continue its efforts to weaken the Russian economy, irrespective of global events.