A plan from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to potentially lift sanctions on Iranian crude oil stranded at sea has divided expert opinion between those who see it as a pragmatic crisis response and those who view it as a strategic mistake. Bessent announced Thursday that the US is considering the measure as part of its effort to combat oil prices above $100 per barrel following Iran’s Hormuz closure.
Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade has been removing between 10 and 14 million barrels of oil per day from global supply for close to two weeks. The resulting price surge has generated widespread economic concern and has put intense pressure on the Trump administration to find effective supply-side solutions quickly.
Bessent said approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude are stranded on tankers in international waters, oil originally on its way to Chinese buyers. A temporary sanctions waiver could allow this oil to reach global markets and provide roughly two weeks of supply relief during the US campaign against the Hormuz closure.
Earlier, the Treasury issued a waiver for Russian oil stranded at sea, adding approximately 130 million barrels to global supply, providing a working model for the proposed Iranian approach. An additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel commitment is also being planned, with the administration maintaining its opposition to financial market intervention.
Critics from the compliance and national security fields argued the plan is strategically flawed. They warned that oil revenues flowing to Tehran would provide financial support for the Iranian regime’s military and proxy activities, undermining the broader US effort to apply economic pressure. Supporters, however, contended that the measure is a pragmatic response to an acute supply crisis, prioritizing economic stability over the purity of the sanctions regime.