Treasury Secretary Bessent Blames Iran Conflict for Delayed 'Golden Age' as Inflation Persists

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attributed the absence of the administration's promised economic "golden age" to the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, saying the war has "masked many signs of economic development" and that the golden age is "still coming and accelerating," according to an Axios interview published Oct. 3, 2026. When Axios pressed that the economy is not merely masked but suppressed, Bessent said all U.S. economic indicators remain "quite strong" aside from headline inflation. He partly blamed cost-of-living pressures on high-inflation legacies from the prior administration and called long-term price increases somewhat normal. Bessent did not directly address a Wall Street Journal report that nearly all U.S. goods are rising in price, reiterating only that the country will "get through the Iran conflict." Analysts said the remarks aim to attribute oil, supply-chain and consumer-price pressure to geopolitical conflict. If energy prices stay elevated and core inflation proves sticky, the White House's "golden age" narrative will face scrutiny from voters and markets.