WASHINGTON, September 1. /TASS/. The US administration wants to use sanctions to force Tehran to enter into an agreement with Washington, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Responding to journalists’ questions during the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries in Asheville (North Carolina), he said that the United States is going "to economically asphyxiate this regime."

"And as [US] President [Donald] Trump said, the reason the memorandum of understanding did not work - they were not ready for a deal. My job is to make sure that they want to have a deal, and they will want to have one," the minister said.

The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28.

In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

However, on the night of July 8, the United States resumed large·scale strikes against Iran, accusing it of violating the agreements on the Strait of Hormuz.

On August 24, Bessent said that Washington was tightening unilateral sanctions against Iran sharply, aiming to sever Tehran’s sources of income.