US Lifts Iran Oil Sanctions Through April 19
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- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a narrowly tailored, short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently loaded on vessels, with the waiver expiring April 19 and estimated to bring roughly 140 million barrels to global markets.
- Brent crude is holding around $112 a barrel, up 53% year-on-year, while UK gas prices have nearly doubled from 80p to 151p per therm since the war began at the end of February.
- Bessent argued the waiver could help divert oil supplies to India, Japan, and Malaysia while forcing China — previously the primary discount buyer of Iranian oil — to pay "market price."
- Maritime sanctions expert David Tannenbaum of Blackstone Compliance Services called the idea "bananas," warning the US is "allowing Iran to sell oil, which could then be used to fund the war effort" against it.
- Rachel Ziemba of the Center for a New American Security said the waiver is "not a game changer" and raises "a whole lot of questions," noting the US is in an "every-barrel-counts situation" given the scale of the supply shock.
- Former World Bank president David Malpass called it a "narrow action that should cause downward pressure on oil prices outside China" and "reduce Iran's oil revenue and undercut its military."
- The US has also released oil reserves and suspended some sanctions on Russian oil — a decision that sparked blowback from European leaders concerned it would strengthen Putin's regime and prolong the war in Ukraine.
Why it matters: Brent crude is up 53% year-on-year to $112 a barrel, and experts estimate the war has knocked roughly a tenth of world supply offline. By letting sanctioned Iranian oil reach market — and potentially fund its own adversary, per one cited expert — Washington is prioritizing price stability over its own 'maximum pressure' stance on Iran, a reversal so stark one insider called it 'bananas.'
