Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has pushed Iranian oil to the forefront of the administration’s response to a prolonged energy price shock, revealing Thursday that the US may temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian crude stranded on tankers in international waters. Bessent said the potential measure would provide critical short-term supply relief to global markets that have been disrupted by Iran’s Hormuz blockade for close to two weeks.
The Hormuz closure has been causing a daily oil supply shortfall of between 10 and 14 million barrels, driving crude prices above $100 per barrel in a sustained surge that has affected economies worldwide. The administration has been under significant pressure to find supply solutions that can provide meaningful and rapid relief to markets and consumers.
Bessent disclosed that approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude are stranded on tankers in international waters, oil originally heading toward Chinese buyers. A targeted temporary waiver, he said, could redirect this oil to global markets and provide roughly two weeks of supply support during the ongoing US campaign against the Hormuz blockade.
The Treasury’s approach is modeled on a previous waiver for Russian oil that added approximately 130 million barrels to world supply. A unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel commitment is also being prepared, alongside the administration’s firm stance against any financial oil market intervention.
Policy experts and compliance specialists raised important concerns. They argued that enabling Iranian oil revenues, even within the narrowest possible waiver structure, would provide financial resources to the Tehran government that could sustain military activities and fund proxy forces. Critics described the plan as a supply-side solution to a geopolitical problem, warning that its brief market benefit may be outweighed by the strategic cost of providing an adversary with a financial windfall during an active conflict.