Iranian oil sanctions relief has been added to the administration’s energy crisis toolkit, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed Thursday. Bessent said the US is considering temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian crude oil stranded on tankers in international waters as part of its response to oil prices that have remained above $100 per barrel since Iran’s Strait of Hormuz closure.
The Hormuz blockade has been removing between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily supply from global markets for close to two weeks, creating an acute and sustained oil supply crisis. The resulting price surge has affected multiple industries and economies worldwide and has prompted the administration to explore every available supply-side option.
Bessent confirmed that approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude are stranded on tankers in international waters, oil originally destined for Chinese buyers. A targeted temporary waiver could redirect this oil to global markets, providing an estimated two-week supply cushion while the US campaign to resolve the Hormuz standoff continues.
The plan draws on a previous Treasury waiver for Russian oil that added approximately 130 million barrels to world supply. An additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel joint commitment is also being planned, alongside the administration’s firm policy against engagement in financial oil market instruments.
Policy and compliance experts responded with concern. They warned that enabling Iranian oil revenues, regardless of the waiver’s narrow construction, would provide the Tehran government with resources to sustain military operations and fund regional proxy activities. Critics described the inclusion of Iranian sanctions relief in the crisis toolkit as a significant and potentially risky expansion of the administration’s willingness to trade sanctions coherence for short-term market stability.