US Treasury secretary says short-term economic pain worth long-term security

US Treasury secretary says short-term pain worth long-term security46 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleFaisal Islam,Economics editorandDearbail Jordan,Business reporterWatch: The BBC's Michelle Fleury on how oil prices and war could derail global growthUS Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told the BBC a "small bit of economic pain" was worthwhile to eliminate the threat of Iranian nuclear strikes on Western capitals.As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned the US-Israel war with Iran could plunge the global economy into recession, Bessent said the long-term security benefits would be worth it."I wonder what the hit to global GDP would be if a nuclear weapon hit London... I am saying that I am less concerned about short-term forecasts, for long-term security," he said.Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. The UK government says there was "no assessment" that Iran was trying to target Europe with missiles.Bessent told the BBC he was less concerned about the economic hit than the risk Iran poses to global security."The biggest risk you can take is one you don't know you were taking. Now we know for a fact that, as the Iranians shot at Diego Garcia, they do have mid-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach London, and we know that they want a nuclear programme," he said. He added that US and Israeli strikes had removed the "tail risk" of Iranian nuclear strikes against Western countries.As the BBC has previously reported, the threat of Iranian ballistic missiles to London is remote.A UK government spokesperson said: "There is no assessment Iran is trying to target Europe with missiles. But we have the military capability we need to keep Britain safe from any kind of attacks, whether it's on our soil or from abroad. We are ready to defend the country, whatever the threat."In its World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said in a worst-case...