CIA Director John Ratcliffe is reportedly advising President Donald Trump to neither restart the war with Iran nor strike a deal, but rather let economic pressure keep building on Tehran.
CIA Chief Urges Trump to Keep Squeezing Iran
Ratcliffe told Trump that “prolonged economic pain will induce Iran to make more concessions” and could also stir enough anger at home to threaten the government, Axios reported, citing a source with direct knowledge.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio back the same “no war, no deal” approach.
The White House, CIA and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s requests for comment.
Trump Weighs Deal, War or Pressure
“One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush,” Trump told the publication in an interview on Monday.
“We crippled them financially.”
Bessent told CNBC last week that Iran has no oil barrels on the water for what he called probably the first time since it began producing oil, and that internal estimates show its economy could contract by as much as 25% over the year since the conflict began.
Iran Signals Openness, Oil Drops
On Monday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei gave the government authority to seek a deal through diplomacy.
Brent Crude for January deliveries was unchanged at $104.77 a barrel at the time of writing, while WTI crude oil for December deliveries was up 0.20% at $96.65.
High prices at the pump have been a pressing concern for voters heading into the midterms. The national average for regular gasoline was $4.1694 a gallon on Monday, up from $3.0361 a year ago, while diesel averaged $6.2921, up from $3.6840, according to the American Automobile Association.
Price Action: The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) fell 7.08% on Monday to close at $156.87 and rose 0.92% to $158.32 in overnight hours.
Benzinga Edge rankings indicate the United States Oil Fund has a Momentum score in the 97th percentile and positive price trends across the short, medium, and long term.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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