US treasury secretary Scott Bessent eyes US cash reserves in bid to stare down bond markets

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced an expansion of secondary sanctions it can impose on entities and countries that maintain business ties with Iran around the world as Washington significantly ratchets up economic pressure on Tehran with the war nearing its six-month mark.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced what he called an “unprecedented” US campaign to sever Iran from the global economy. He says any country doing business with Iran could face US sanctions. Any country that facilitates money laundering for Iran could be removed from the US dollar system, he said during a pre

"And any nation that serves as a financial artery of a withering regime should expect to share in its isolation."

Bessent’s moves on the yen and long-dated bonds do little to assuage markets long-term

Bessent’s move “does not change anything. It just reduces the cash that Treasury has on deposit,” one analyst says.

Speculators still see yields hitting new highs in 2026 and ending the year at levels elevated from where they're currently trading.

Watch live coverage as Secretary Scott Bessent holds a press conference detailing further sanctions against Iran.

The Trump administration calls this an "economic D-Day" on Iran. Iran vows to respond to fresh sanctions in a "seismic manner."

Two senior Treasury officials told CNBC the General Account is a potential funding source, sending 10- and 30-year yields lower on Monday

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"Any remaining tie to Tehran will hasten the economic ostracism of countries and entities, whether that tie be purposefully constructed or wilfully ignored."

Bessent said Tehran had relied on the expectation that Iranian retaliation was certain while US enforcement could be negotiated.

Investors and analysts poured scorn on US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s doubling of long-term bond purchases, which provided temporary relief but faces structural economic headwinds that are driving yields higher.

The Wild Week When Scott Bessent Was Schooled by the Bond Market  WSJ

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s attempt to calm bond markets is a sign of weakness not strength “Look, there’s nothing magic about that $40tn number,” the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, told CNBC insouciantly last week, as the country’s debt mountain surpassed another bleak record. Yet Bessent’s decision to i

New analysis shows cost of reinstating system almost half that touted by the coalition.

Long-term US Treasury yields climbed back above where they stood before Wednesday's buyback announcement, wiping out the relief that move had briefly delivered, and prompting US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to signal that Washington is ready to intervene even more aggressively.

Global stocks set for biggest weekly fall since mid-July as bond yields, oil stay high  Reuters

U.S. bond yields are rarely a burning issue with the general public. But that’s changed this week as a spike in yields has hit the front pages and TV newscasts. Yields on 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds hit their highest point in almost two decades on Tuesday. The rise prompted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to step in w