The United States will not extend the exemptions that allowed the purchase of some Iranian and Iranian goods Russian oil without having to face US sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant told reporters on Wednesday.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Washington “will not extend a 30-day lifting of sanctions on Iranian maritime oil that expires this week and will allow a similar lifting of sanctions on Russian oil to expire over the weekend.”
“We will not renew the general license for Russian oil, and we will not renew the general license for Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water before March 11. So it was all used,” Bessent said at a White House briefing.
The moves signal an end to the Trump administration’s efforts to use sanctions relief to release more oil supplies and reduce soaring global energy prices.
The Iranian exemption, which the Treasury Department issued on March 20, allowed around 140 million barrels of oil to access global markets and helped ease wartime pressure on energy supplies, Bessent said last month. The waiver expires on April 19th.
Bessent said the US is now preparing to further restrict new purchases of Iranian oil through secondary sanctions.
Get breaking national news
Get breaking Canadian news delivered straight to your inbox so you never miss a trending story.
“We have told companies and countries that we are now ready to impose secondary sanctions if you buy Iranian oil when there is Iranian money in your banks, which is a very strict measure,” he said.
He added that the measures were “the financial equivalent” of the US military’s bombing campaign against Iran.
Bessent told NBC News last week that a Treasury Department analysis showed the maximum additional amount of oil revenue Russia could receive would be $2 billion.
Critics criticized the prospect of Russia reaping additional profits that would be funneled into the war with Ukraine, which continues to drag on despite U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to find a solution.
When asked by reporters on Wednesday, Bessent acknowledged that Russia’s additional revenue during the sanctions easing period “could have been $2 billion, we don’t know,” but defended the move.
“Let’s imagine a different world where the price of oil rose to $150 (per barrel US) and they would have made a lot more by displacing the Russian barrels that were already on the water, they would be sold, they would definitely go to China,” he said.
“Forcing it on our allies helped stabilize the price of oil. … There were doomsday scenarios: ‘Oil goes to $150. It goes to $200. It goes to $250.'”
Brent crude oil prices have fallen from their wartime peak of $119 a barrel to over $90 since U.S. President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
– With additional files from Global News
