Earlier this week, Trump said Iran had given the United States a “very big gift” related to oil and gas. Then Trump clarified that the gift “was worth a lot of money.”
“They said: “To prove that we are serious and ready for dialogue, we will allow eight boats with oil through. Eight large tankers with oil,” said the head of the White House.
According to him, he initially did not take the Iranians' promises seriously, but media reports allegedly confirmed Tehran's intentions. Trump clarified that the eight tankers initially missed were probably flying the flag of Pakistan.
Then Iran “apologized for some of its statements” and sent two more tankers, he said, adding that he did not want to spoil the negotiations by making this information public.
Context
Due to military actions by the United States and Israel in Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz practically stopped on March 1 and oil prices began to rise. Against this backdrop, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on March 6 that India received sanctions relief during the war in Iran. On the same day, he informed that the United States was considering the option of lifting sanctions on the oil of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation. Trump called the rise in oil prices “a very small price to pay.”
On March 7, Israel began carrying out air strikes on fuel storage complexes in Tehran. The strikes caused fires and the release of toxic smoke over Tehran, which could affect global oil prices, Axios wrote. The United States has said it views such attacks only as a last resort measure to be taken in the event of a deliberate attack by Tehran on oil infrastructure in the region.
On March 11, Reuters wrote that Iran's military command warned that world oil prices could rise to $200 per barrel amid the ongoing war and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
On the night of March 22, Trump said that the United States could strike Iranian energy infrastructure if his demands to open the Strait of Hormuz were not met.
On March 23, on the Truth Social social network, the head of the White House announced that he had instructed the Pentagon to postpone strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days. According to Bloomberg, after this, oil futures fell by more than 11%, Brent was trading at approximately $100 per barrel (before the announcement, the price was approximately $112.9).
