Bessent Says USA Won't Renew Iranian, Russian Oil Waivers

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed that the US would not renew general licenses that allowed for the temporary sale of certain Russian and Iranian crude. 

“We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil,” Bessent said Wednesday during a White House press briefing. 

At issue is the near paralysis of crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that normally provides passage for a fifth of the world’s oil. The disruption has caused oil prices to spike and is imposing an increasingly heavy toll on US allies in Asia that are heavily reliant on imports from the region.

Global crude prices are up more than 30% since the war began. Brent traded around $96 a barrel as the US and Iran are considering a two-week ceasefire extension. 

The US decision to not renew the Russian waiver “was expected, it was one of the possible scenarios,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies on Thursday. “We have learned to act in a way that minimizes the consequences of such measures,” Peskov said. “We will continue to do so.”

The Trump administration previously issued temporary waivers authorizing purchases of some otherwise-sanctioned Russian and Iranian crude already loaded onto ships. But the waiver on Russian supplies expired Saturday, the Iranian authorization is due to lapse Sunday, and Trump administration officials previously said neither are likely to be reissued.

Several Asian countries, including India and the Philippines, had unsuccessfully lobbied the US to extend the Russian waiver before its expiration.  

Even so, there’s still an opportunity for targeted relief that applies to certain companies or is designed to aid individual countries. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he pressed US President Donald Trump on the importance of keeping the strait open and secure during a Tuesday phone call. Bessent did not address the prospect for limited waivers on Wednesday.

While threats from Iran had chilled oil and other cargo traffic through the strait since the start of the US and Israeli strikes in February, now a US blockade of the waterway threatens to pull more crude supplies from the world market.