{"text":[[{"start":8.1,"text":"US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent is weighing plans to use Iranian assets to pay for the rebuilding of Gulf countries hit by retaliation from Tehran, in a bid to limit the war’s fallout on American allies in the Middle East."}],[{"start":22.7,"text":"Bessent’s push comes after continued attacks on America’s closest allies in the Gulf, including Kuwait and Bahrain, prompted US forces to strike Iranian targets despite the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran."}],[{"start":37.5,"text":"Relations between the US and its top Gulf allies have been strained by the extended conflict and de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for oil and gas shipments in and out of the region. "}],[{"start":49.75,"text":"“Treasury will utilise all tools available to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for any future damage caused by Iran,” a senior Trump administration official told the FT on Saturday."}],[{"start":65.35,"text":"The official added that Bessent had “directed his team to assess conditions among our Gulf allies and request comprehensive estimates of the costs associated with repairing damage Iran has inflicted since the start of the conflict”."}],[{"start":80.1,"text":"“Treasury will further consider whether Iranian assets could be used to support repairs for past damages,” said the official."}],[{"start":86.94999999999999,"text":"The idea of using Iran’s assets — including up to $100bn in frozen funds held across a range of countries overseas — to pay for rebuilding the Gulf comes as Iran and the US have debated whether to release some of that money back to Tehran as part of any peace deal."}],[{"start":102.89999999999999,"text":"But talks have not yielded a breakthrough, and military tensions continue to rise. Iran this week fired missiles at US bases in the nearby Gulf states of Kuwait and Bahrain. Six of them were intercepted, while a seventh did not reach its target."}],[{"start":118.1,"text":"US Central Command, which oversees military operations against Iran, said its forces shot down four Iranian attack drones that “posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic” in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and two on Saturday."}],[{"start":132.1,"text":"It said American forces also struck “Iranian coastal surveillance radar sites” in Goruk and on Qeshm Island. "}],[{"start":139.54999999999998,"text":"The White House and Treasury did not respond to requests for comment, including on the specific Iranian assets the US wanted to use to rebuild the Gulf."}],[{"start":157.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780803600_7233.mp3"}