The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Besent, urged China and U.S. allies to join the U.S. escort operation for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, May 4th.
“Threats of attacks from Iran have closed off the (Hormuz) strait – we are in the process of reopening it,” Besent said in an interview with Fox News on Monday. “So I urge China to join us in supporting this international effort.”
This statement comes as U.S. President Trump is set to visit China. Trump had previously stated that China should participate in escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Besent on Monday also called on Beijing to increase its diplomatic involvement in opening this vital waterway.
“Let’s see if China will step up its diplomatic efforts to encourage Iran to reopen the strait,” Besent said, adding that Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, “and China (the CCP) purchases 90% of Iran’s energy, thus they are financing this largest state sponsor of terrorism.”
He also said that China and Russia should stop obstructing various initiatives being advanced by the United Nations, such as a resolution encouraging countries to take measures to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Besent revealed that Trump and Xi Jinping have discussed the situation in Iran and will exchange views on this issue during the summit in Beijing on May 14th to 15th. However, he emphasized that both sides will work to maintain the stability of U.S.-China relations, which was established after the trade truce agreement reached in Busan, South Korea, last October.
The U.S. military has been carrying out Trump’s “Project Freedom” operation since Monday. Under this plan, the U.S. military will assist commercial ships stranded in the Persian Gulf to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
In addition to urging China to join, Besent also called on international partners to participate.
“We hope our international partners will take the same actions,” he said. He also stressed that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. “has absolute control over the strait.”
“If Iran wants to escalate conflict here, we are willing to accompany them,” Besent warned, adding that the U.S. military “will only retaliate when attacked.”
The Treasury Secretary also mentioned that the U.S. Navy’s assistance in ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz will help reduce oil prices. He stated that currently, the global oil shortage caused by conflicts is about 8 to 10 million barrels per day. He also mentioned that each oil tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz carries approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil. If four to five tankers pass through each day, it can offset the shortage.
He further added that there are currently 150 to 200 such tankers that “can pass through,” so he believes the market supply will be very sufficient.
Besent forecasted that once shipping resumes in the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices will “quickly fall,” which could happen “in a matter of weeks or a month.”
He also pointed out that the Iranian economy is undergoing a “freefall.”
“Everyone says they can endure the pain. But, their soldiers won’t tolerate not getting paid,” he said.