Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Thursday that the United States is actively exploring the possibility of temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian crude oil stranded on tankers at sea. The administration sees the move as a key part of its strategy to relieve the oil price pressure resulting from Iran’s Strait of Hormuz shutdown.
Oil prices have climbed steadily above $100 per barrel since the Hormuz closure began, with a daily supply shortfall estimated at 10 to 14 million barrels. The sustained disruption has had wide-ranging economic consequences, pushing up fuel costs and contributing to inflation in economies around the world.
Bessent pointed to approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude on tankers originally headed for China as a supply buffer that could be unlocked through a targeted sanctions waiver. He estimated this volume would provide global markets with 10 to 14 days of relief — a window sufficient, in the administration’s view, for its broader campaign against Iran’s Hormuz blockade to take effect.
This approach is modeled on a waiver the Treasury previously issued for Russian oil, which redirected around 130 million barrels to global markets. The administration is also planning an additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release, supplementing the 400 million barrels already released through a coordinated G7 commitment.
Experts and analysts raised immediate concerns. Sanctions specialists warned that the measure would likely generate significant oil revenues for the Iranian government, regardless of the waiver’s narrow scope. Analysts described the plan as tactically understandable but strategically problematic, noting that any money flowing to Tehran could be used to support military activities and fund the regime’s network of regional allies.