US Issues 30-Day Iran Oil Sanctions Waiver; Beasent: Will Supply Global Oil Approximately 140 Million Barrels

On Friday Eastern Time, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen announced that the Trump administration has issued a 30-day sanctions waiver allowing the purchase of Iranian oil at sea to ease the pressure on energy supplies since the U.S. and Iran went to war.

The new license permits the sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto ships by March 20. The license has been published on the U.S. Treasury Department’s website.

The U.S. Treasury Department stated in this general license that it allows the sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto ships between March 20 and April 19.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on X:

“By temporarily releasing existing oil supplies, the U.S. will quickly deliver about 140 million barrels of oil to the global market, expanding global energy supplies and helping to alleviate the temporary supply pressures caused by Iran.”

“Essentially, we will use Iran’s crude oil to counter Tehran, to lower oil prices, while continuing the ‘Epic Fury’ operation.”

In recent weeks, to ease the rising trend of oil prices, the U.S. has frequently loosened oil supply restrictions, first relaxing trade restrictions on U.S. companies and Venezuelan oil companies, and temporarily lifting sanctions on some Russian oil.

In fact, on Thursday, Yellen proposed lifting sanctions on Iranian oil during an interview. However, this was opposed by some analysts who questioned whether the policy might actually benefit Iran.

Yellen rebutted this analysis in her Friday statement.

She wrote:

“This temporary short-term authorization is strictly limited to oil already in transit and does not permit new purchases or production… Iran will find it difficult to gain any revenue from this, and the U.S. will continue to exert maximum pressure on Iran and its ability to access the international financial system.”

(Source: Caixin)