According to the Financial Times, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is considering plans to use Iranian resources (including approximately $100 billion in frozen funds stored in various countries) to finance the reconstruction of the Persian Gulf countries and limit the effects of the war on American allies in the Middle East.
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The US Treasury is investigating losses in the Persian Gulf
Bessent's idea and emphasis on such a solution was said to have emerged after Iran's recent attacks, which in turn prompted US forces to attack Iranian targets in retaliation, despite the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
— Treasury will use all available tools to enable Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support reconstruction and repair in the event of future damage caused by Iran — a senior White House official told the Financial Times on Saturday.
He added that Bessent “ordered his team to assess conditions among our allies in the Gulf and request comprehensive cost estimates to repair the damage Iran has inflicted since the beginning of the conflict.”
— The Treasury Department will also consider whether Iranian assets could be used to repair past damage, the official told the FT.
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US Central Command, which oversees military operations against Iran, said its forces shot down four Iranian attack drones on Friday and two on Saturday. The missiles were said to pose a “direct threat to regional maritime traffic” in the Strait of Hormuz. American forces also struck Iranian coastal surveillance radars in Goruk and Qeshm Island.
The White House and the U.S. Treasury did not respond by press time to the Financial Times' request for comment.
