U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrives to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Financial Services Subcommittee, and General Government Hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 22, 2026, in Washington, DC.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that “many” U.S. oil-rich allies in the Persian Gulf have requested financial support amid the economic turmoil caused by the war with Iran.
Bessent’s comments went further than the White House’s claims to CNBC on Tuesday, with officials saying only that the United States had not yet been formally asked by the United Arab Emirates to set up a currency swap line and that there had been discussions on the topic.
Such a swap line would provide liquidity to the UAE or other Gulf countries. USD, But there are political risks as American consumers weather war-induced price increases for food, gasoline, and other everyday purchases.
“A number of Gulf states are requesting that the line be replaced,” Bessent said. “Swap lines are meant to maintain order in the dollar funding market and prevent the sale of U.S. assets in a disorderly manner, whether from the Fed or the Treasury.”
“A swap line would benefit both the UAE and the United States, and as I said earlier, many other countries, including some of our allies in Asia, have also requested it,” he said, without specifying the other countries.
Gulf countries, including the UAE, have been hit hard by the war with Iran. The Iranian government has fired missiles at US allies in the region, damaging economic infrastructure. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is also blocking vital oil revenues for Gulf states.
Currency swaps may also be needed to ensure the continued use of the U.S. dollar, which is dominant on nearly all oil exchanges.
President Donald Trump said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday that he would like to help the UAE if possible.
“If we can help them, we will,” the president said.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), a member of the Senate Finance and Foreign Affairs committees, supported a currency swap with the UAE in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.
Daines said he thinks “(Bessent) is moving in that direction and I support him in that.”
But Democrats are likely to take advantage of political opening-up through currency swaps, especially with rich countries in the Middle East. The UAE has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
Asking Bessent about the possibility of currency swaps during the hearing, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) emphasized the economic situation in the country where currency swaps would take place.
Van Hollen said: “The war in Iran is already costing us dearly. In addition to lives lost, we are talking about more than $1 billion of taxpayer money per day, we are talking about higher gasoline prices and higher prices overall. And now we understand that the UAE is seeking to provide a swap line through the Exchange Stability Fund.”
Van Hollen also noted a slew of recent reports on UAE-US relations, including reports of Gulf state officials investing in Trump family businesses and loosening protections around advanced artificial intelligence chips.
—CNBC’s Megan Cassella contributed to this report.
