Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent deployed some seriously distressing doublespeak while addressing President Donald Trump’s plans to subdue Iran and a regain access to the Strait of Hormuz.

During Sunday morning’s episode of “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker asked if the president’s Saturday night Truth Social post threatening to throw America’s full military might against Iran ran counter to his claims the U.S. was close to winding down the conflict with a victory.

“They are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes you have to escalate to deescalate,” he said about Trump’s post, where he issued Iranian leaders a 48-hour ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for the global energy trade, or see the U.S. “obliterate” the country’s power plants.

Bessent: "Sometimes you have to escalate to deescalate" pic.twitter.com/Po0ewI0QVa

Asking about the possibility of American ground troops being sent to Kharg Island, where nearly all of Iran’s oil exports travel through, Bessent told Welker, “All options are on the table.”

The secretary defended Trump’s heated rhetoric, telling Welker the president was talking in “the only language the Iranians understand.”

Bessent repeatedly scolded Welker over questions about the scope of the war, which has escalated from promises of limited engagement to the very real possibility of an imminent ground invasion.

“Whether it’s this network or the mainstream press, the American people do not have good framing of what is going on here,” he said.

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