Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed Thursday that the United States may soon waive sanctions on Iranian oil stranded on tankers in international waters, in what would represent a significant tactical shift in US energy and foreign policy. Bessent said the move is intended to ease an oil price crisis that has kept crude above $100 per barrel since Iran’s Hormuz blockade began.
The Strait of Hormuz closure has had severe consequences for global oil markets, with an estimated 10 to 14 million barrels per day taken off the market. The sustained price surge has triggered emergency response discussions in governments, international bodies, and energy markets around the world.
Bessent said approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude are sitting aboard tankers that had been heading toward Chinese customers. He described a potential sanctions waiver as a two-week supply bridge — a way to blunt the economic impact of Iran’s strategy while the US government’s broader campaign against the Hormuz blockade develops.
Earlier in the crisis, a similar waiver for Russian oil added approximately 130 million barrels to global markets, providing the administration with a working template for the approach. Additional supply will also come from a unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release, supplementing the 400 million barrel coordinated G7 release already made.
National security and sanctions analysts raised red flags about the long-term implications. They noted that any revenue generated by Iran from oil sales, regardless of the waiver’s scope, would flow into the regime’s finances and could be directed toward military activities, weapons procurement, and support for regional proxy forces. Experts characterized the measure as tactically convenient but strategically problematic.