As oil price pressure continues to mount, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved Thursday to consider releasing Iranian crude oil stranded on tankers in international waters by temporarily lifting existing sanctions. Bessent said the measure, involving approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude originally bound for China, is part of the administration’s escalating response to oil prices above $100 per barrel caused by Iran’s Hormuz blockade.
The Hormuz blockade has now maintained its disruptive effect on global oil markets for close to two weeks, removing between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily supply from circulation. The mounting price pressure has affected consumers, businesses, and governments worldwide and has generated growing urgency for supply-side interventions capable of providing meaningful relief.
Bessent confirmed the stranded Iranian crude represents a viable emergency supply source that could be unlocked through a targeted temporary waiver. He estimated the oil would provide roughly two weeks of market support during the critical phase of the US campaign to force Iran to reopen the strait.
The Treasury has previously released Russian oil through a comparable mechanism, adding approximately 130 million barrels to world supply. A unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel commitment is also being planned, with the administration maintaining its firm opposition to financial market intervention.
Experts from the compliance and security communities raised substantive concerns as the pressure mounted to act. They warned that enabling Iranian oil revenues, even within the narrowest waiver framework, would provide the Tehran regime with funds to sustain military activities and regional proxy operations. Critics argued that moving to release Iranian crude, however understandable given the mounting pressure, creates strategic risks that could outlast the immediate price crisis by many months or years.