Bessent says Treasury to oversee Iran funds as Polymarket sees 99% for 20+ ships

Strait of Hormuz Ship Transits: 20+ Ships Still Near-Certain After Bessent Says Treasury Will Oversee Released Iranian F

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Treasury Department will oversee Iranian funds when they are released under President Donald Trump’s interim Iran agreement, a step the White House says is meant to put guardrails around a politically sensitive element of the deal. On Polymarket’s Strait of Hormuz ship-transits ladder, traders are still pricing a high likelihood that at least 20 ships will transit the strait on at least one day by June 30.

Key Takeaways

• Polymarket prices the 20+ ships outcome at 99.4% Yes (0.6% No) for transit on any day by June 30.
• The catalyst is renewed focus on the interim Iran agreement after Bessent said Treasury will oversee released Iranian funds tied to purchases of U.S. food and medicines.
• The market resolves by June 30, 2026, and the leading 20+ strike has held near the top end despite choppy recent pricing.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. Treasury Department will oversee Iranian funds when they are released under President Donald Trump’s interim Iran agreement. Bessent said a large percentage of the money would be used to purchase U.S. agricultural products and medicines, and he suggested Treasury oversight would be based in the Middle East. He did not specify how much money would be released, where the funds would be held, how Iran would direct purchases, or what enforcement tools would be used to prevent diversion. The comments came as the White House faces criticism from some congressional Republicans who argue the deal offers Iran too much in sanctions relief and access to frozen funds in exchange for a temporary negotiating window. Administration officials have said the interim arrangement is intended to stop hostilities and create a 60-day window for negotiating a broader agreement.

Polymarket Odds and Volume Breakdown: 20+ Ships at 99.4% Yes on $2.09M, with 40+ at 64.5% and 60+ at 17.5%

Polymarket’s ladder market shows the baseline threshold priced as near-certain: 20+ ships is 99.4% Yes versus 0.6% No, with about $2,093,095 in volume. The next rungs are far less confident, with 40+ at 64.5% Yes / 35.5% No, 60+ at 17.5% Yes / 82.5% No, and 80+ at 5.45% Yes / 94.55% No. The distribution implies traders expect at least one high-traffic day in the Strait of Hormuz by the June 30 resolution date, but see sharply declining odds for extreme daily totals.

Whether pricing shifts from the 20+ baseline toward the 40+ strike, and whether volume concentrates in mid-ladder rungs as the June 30, 2026 resolution date approaches.

Beyond the Baseline: Other High-Volume Strait of Hormuz Ladder Contracts Traders Are Targeting (40+, 60+, 80+)

Beyond the ship-count ladders, Polymarket activity is clustering around broader timing and regime-risk questions tied to the same corridor, with 97.55% on “No” in “Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by end of June?” on $33.27 million of volume and 76.5% on “No” in “Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by July 15?” On the geopolitical side, traders are also leaning heavily toward continuity in “Will the Iranian regime fall by June 30?” with 99.75% “No” on $63.91 million, while “US-Iran Final Nuclear Deal by…?” shows a more fragmented timeline, led by “August 31” at 22.5%.

Odds Trend

By the Numbers

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