“Today, the Department of the Treasury is issuing a narrowly tailored, short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Friday night on X. “You don’t unsanction Iranian oil if you’re winding down. The word for that is desperation.”Erickson questioned whether the action will have much of an impact on oil prices. Europe still has sanctions on Iranian oil, he said, and the firms that purchase it would still be taking a considerable risk. “That’s why prices are unlikely to be impacted significantly.”Analysts who have advised the administration on sanctions and economic policy publicly defended the move.

Source: Washington Post March 21, 2026 16:38 UTC