The U.S. will not renew sanctions waivers that allow purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products at sea, and it also will not renew a waiver for Iranian oil at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday.
Bessent made the remarks in an interview with The Associated Press, saying the U.S. does not plan to extend the sanctions relief. He told AP, “Not the Iranians,” and said, “We have the blockade, and there’s no oil coming out.” In the same interview, he added, “And we think in the next two, three days, they’re going to have to start shuttering production, which will be very bad for their wells.”
Bessent’s comments came amid heightened global concern over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and the knock-on effects on energy markets. The AP report said global markets have been “ensnarled” by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil shipments.
The Russian waiver was originally issued in March, according to AP, with the stated intent of stabilizing global energy markets after crude oil prices surged above $100 per barrel. AP said the Treasury Department renewed the waiver two days after Bessent said at the White House that he had no plans to extend sanctions relief.
In the interview, Bessent described the decision-making context behind the earlier waiver moves. He said that during the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings last week, “More than 10 of the most vulnerable and poorest countries came to me and said, ‘Can you help?’” Bessent said the relief was intended for those countries and argued against another extension.
“It was for those vulnerable and poor countries,” Bessent said. “But I wouldn’t imagine that we’d have another extension. I think the Russian oil on the water has been largely sucked up.”