The United States could “lift sanctions on Iranian oil in international waters” and release resources from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve again to lower crude prices, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business.
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Iranian crude oil has been subject to periodic sanctions over the past five decades, and most recently US President Donald Trump imposed full sanctions in 2018. The move followed the United States' withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, under which Iran limited its nuclear program in exchange for broad sanctions relief.
Lifting sanctions would effectively mean allowing the open sale of limited supplies of crude oil to Europe and other regions. The new flow of raw material could quickly increase global supply, writes CNN.
Last week Washington loosened sanctions on Russian oil. Currently, most of Iran's crude oil is transported to Chinaalthough “shadow fleet” tankers with Iranian oil flow to other countries, thus bypassing sanctions.
Iran wants to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz
A proposal to collect fees and taxes from ships using the Strait of Hormuz has been submitted to the Iranian parliament, a parliament representative was quoted by Iranian state television as saying.
According to the draft, countries wishing to use this key waterway as a “safe route for shipping, energy transit and food security” will have to pay for it.
Any attempt by Iran to control the strait would require support from the region, which is unlikely given the current conflict and its impact on Iran's neighbors in the Persian Gulf. But Iran's use of force to effectively close the waterway to Western shipping since the beginning of the war makes any Iranian proposal to manage the strait significant, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Oil prices and attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf
The price of Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, exceeded $110. per barrel on Wednesday evening and continued to rise on Thursday. This price movement followed another wave of hits on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.
The United States announced the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting this week. Delivery will take about 120 days, based on the planned rate of landing, according to the US Department of Energy.
The Strait of Hormuz is blocked by Iran due to the US-Israeli attack on this country since February 28.
Source: CNN, Wall Street Journal
