Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was pulled mid-interview Thursday morning and rushed to the White House Situation Room in a moment that captured the intensity inside the Trump administration as the U.S.-Iran war enters its third week.
Bessent, 63, was about 13 minutes into an interview with Sky News host Wilfred Frost inside the Treasury Department’s Cash Room when an aide rushed in and cut the interview short.
“Sorry, the president wants you right away,” the aide told Bessent.
A crew member removed the microphone from Bessent’s jacket and he was gone — out the door at 10:22 a.m. He did not return for nearly two hours, resuming the interview at 12:07 p.m.
When Frost asked what happened, Bessent said he and Trump discussed a “plethora of things” but declined to elaborate. He did, however, express confidence about the ongoing war against Iran.
“The president is in great spirits, the Iranian mission is proceeding well ahead of schedule,” Bessent said.
“I can give this team my highest compliment — from President Trump, to the head of the Joint Chiefs, to the secretary of war. I would trust my child’s life in their hands,” Bessent said.
Bessent said that the U.S. could begin escorting international commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s chokehold on Persian Gulf shipping, once military conditions allow.
“My belief is that as soon as it is militarily possible, the U.S. Navy, perhaps with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through,” Bessent said.
“There are, in fact, tankers coming through now, Iranian tankers, I believe some Chinese-flag tankers have come through. So we know that they have not mined the straits,” he said.
When Frost asked whether the naval escort plan had come up during Bessent’s two-hour White House meeting, the Treasury secretary smiled and deflected.
“Your words, not mine,” he said.
Operation Epic Fury launched Feb. 28 as a joint U.S.-Israeli operation. The strike killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran, now led by newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has since moved to weaponize the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20 percent of all global oil exports flow — as an economic attack against the U.S.
Watch the moment a call from the White House situation room interrupts U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent's interview with Sky's @WilfredFrost ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4XNNvRuHJX
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 12, 2026