US allows Iranian oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz, Bessent says

The United States is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz to help maintain global energy supplies, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on March 16, even as tensions remain high following attacks on shipping in the region.

“The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we’ve let that happen to supply the rest of the world,” Bessent told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Paris, where he is holding trade talks with China.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply amid Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Persian Gulf. Despite a large US Navy presence in the area, Iran has continued exporting roughly 1.5 million barrels of oil per day through the narrow waterway.

Bessent said the Trump administration expects tanker traffic to rise before US and allied naval forces begin escorting commercial ships through the strait. Tankers supplying India have continued to pass through, and US officials believe some Chinese vessels are also leaving the Gulf.

“We think that there will be a natural opening that the Iranians are letting out, and for now we’re fine with that. We want the world to be well supplied,” Bessent said. He added that President Donald Trump is urging countries that depend on the route for oil imports to assist Washington in protecting tankers from further attacks.

The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf to global markets, is the world’s most critical oil transit route. Before the outbreak of hostilities, around 20% of global oil supplies moved through the waterway.

Oil prices have surged about 40% since the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran two weeks ago, triggering what the International Energy Agency has described as the largest oil supply disruption in history as exports through the strait declined sharply.

On March 16, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading at around $102 per barrel, while U.S. crude prices hovered near $95 per barrel.

The Treasury secretary said oil prices should fall “much lower” than $80 per barrel once the war ends. Bessent said he does not know when the conflict will conclude but added that “the world will be safer and we will be better supplied.”

He also dismissed speculation that the administration might intervene in oil futures markets.

“We haven’t done that,” the Treasury secretary said. It remains unclear what legal authority the United States would have to take such action, he added.

By Sabina Mammadli