Treasury chief: No new waivers for Russian or Iranian oil

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday, April 24, that Washington does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products currently at sea, and ruled out any extension of a one-time waiver for Iranian oil shipments.

“Not the Iranians,” Bessent told The Associated Press. “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,” he added.

His remarks come amid heightened global tensions linked to the US-Israeli war involving Iran, with energy markets also affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States had originally introduced a waiver in March allowing Russian oil sales and petroleum products in an effort to stabilize global energy markets after crude prices rose above $100 per barrel.

The Treasury Department later renewed the waiver two days after Bessent said at the White House that he had no plans to extend the sanctions relief.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Bessent explained the earlier reversal and dismissed the possibility of further extensions for both Russia and Iran.

He said that during last week’s meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, more than 10 of the world’s most vulnerable and poorest countries appealed for assistance.

“More than 10 of the most vulnerable and poorest countries came to me and said, ‘Can you help?’” Bessent said.

“It was for those vulnerable and poor countries. But I wouldn’t imagine that we’d have another extension. I think the Russian oil on the water has been largely sucked up.”

By Tamilla Hasanova