WASHINGTON—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, filling in for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, stressed at Thursday’s press briefing that President Donald Trump will not “take a bad deal” on Iran.
Shortly before Bessent took the podium, anonymously sourced reports began to surface that U.S. officials and Iran had agreed to a deal on a ceasefire extension contingent on final sign-off from the president.
When asked if there was agreement at the top of the briefing, Bessent said U.S. and Iranian negotiators “have been going back and forth.”
“President Trump has made it very clear, he talked about it at the cabinet meeting, that he has several red lines,” the secretary said.
“Iran has to turn over their highly enriched uranium, they cannot pursue a nuclear weapon, and the Strait of Hormuz, back to your question on energy, has to free transit; navigation of the seas has to be free and open as it was before,” he added.
Bessent said that Trump will not accept a “bad deal.”
“He’s not going to take a bad deal. He’s going to make a great deal for the American people,” Bessent told reporters.
Asked again about a deal to extend the ceasefire, he said, “It’s always a mistake to get out ahead of the president.”
When asked if those three redlines would be part of a potential deal, Bessent said, “If there could be no deal without those, why would there be a deal without those?”
On the economy as it relates to Iran, Bessent said that oil prices in May are down roughly 10 percent and noted that prices could fall rapidly with a resolution of the war.
“There are almost 2000 ships waiting to come out of the Gulf, and I think the oil market is going to be very well supplied on the other side of this, and that we could see prices come down very quickly,” he said.
Bessent also highlighted the launch of the Trump Accounts smartphone app.
“Trump Accounts, I believe, are the most important benefit for young people since the GI Bill. Today, the app is now available on all major platforms, bringing the president’s vision directly to American homes,” he said.