In what marks a landmark moment in the administration’s oil crisis response, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed Thursday that Iranian crude oil stranded on tankers is among the most significant supply options under active consideration. Bessent said the potential temporary lifting of sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude in international waters is part of a comprehensive effort to bring down oil prices that have exceeded $100 per barrel since Iran’s Strait of Hormuz blockade began.
The comprehensiveness of the administration’s response reflects the extraordinary scale of Iran’s Hormuz blockade, which has removed between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily supply from global markets for close to two weeks. No single supply measure has proven sufficient to offset the disruption, requiring the administration to construct a layered response that increasingly reaches toward unconventional supply sources.
Bessent identified the approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude on tankers — oil originally heading toward Chinese buyers — as a significant available supply that could be unlocked through a targeted temporary waiver. He estimated the oil would provide roughly two weeks of price support during the US campaign to resolve the Hormuz crisis.
Earlier layers of the comprehensive response include a Treasury waiver for Russian oil that added approximately 130 million barrels to world supply and a coordinated G7 strategic petroleum reserve release of 400 million barrels. An additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release is also being prepared, while the administration has categorically ruled out financial market intervention.
Policy and compliance experts noted the significance of the moment while maintaining critical perspectives. They acknowledged the genuine scale of the challenge facing the administration but warned that enabling Iranian oil revenues — providing funds for military activities and proxy support — remains strategically problematic regardless of the comprehensiveness of the surrounding response. Critics argued that a comprehensive crisis response that includes strategically compromised elements is ultimately less comprehensive than it appears, carrying hidden costs that could complicate the resolution of the crisis rather than accelerate it.