US treasury secretary: US to end sanctions exemptions for Russian and Iranian oil

Ivan Diakonov - 25 April, 07:23

Scott Bessent. Photo: Getty Images

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said President Donald Trump's administration does not plan to renew permits that previously allowed the purchase of Russian and Iranian oil and petroleum products currently held at sea.

Source: Bessent in an interview with Associated Press

Details: Bessent said the issue of extending a one-off exemption for Iranian oil is not on the agenda at all.

Quote: "Not the Iranians. We have the blockade, and there's no oil coming out. 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."

Details: Bessent stressed that Iranian oil is under blockade and is effectively not reaching the market.

Background:

On 12 March, the US lifted sanctions on Russian oil that had been loaded onto tankers at sea at that time, in an effort to stabilise prices, which at the time exceeded US$100 per barrel. The exemptions were in place until 11 April.
On 17 April, the US lifted sanctions restrictions on the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels for 30 days, despite earlier public assurances that the licences would not be renewed.
Bessent explained that the earlier decision to extend limited sanctions relief for Russia followed requests from "vulnerable" countries during meetings of the World Bank and the IMF.

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