The administration of US President Donald Trump on the evening of March 20 lifted oil sanctions against Iran. According to the US Energy Information Administration, a very large amount of crude oil was lifted from sanctions: 140 million barrels, enough to meet the entire world's oil demand for about a day and a half.
The temporary lifting of sanctions against Iran's oil is effective for 1 month.
The US has imposed sanctions on Iran's oil for decades. President Donald Trump's administration has also blocked the sale of Iranian crude oil since the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
However, Iran is still selling its oil. China is Iran's largest customer, and Iran has allowed Chinese oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in the context of blockade.
Explaining the latest move with Iran's oil, US media noted that US officials are making efforts to ensure all existing oil supplies amid the increasingly serious energy crisis. After 3 weeks of conflict with Iran, US officials still have few options to curb the soaring oil and gas prices.
Officials currently estimate separately that the rising prices caused by the conflict could last for months, especially as fighting in the Middle East escalates and crossing the Strait of Hormuz is still almost impossible, 3 well-informed sources revealed.
The US has used up all the policy levers commonly used to reduce the supply shock that is spreading throughout the global economy. The remaining options that can be used range from ineffective to extremely unacceptable.
This is the biggest disruption to the oil market you can imagine. The shortage is so great that existing measures become insignificant compared to the amount of oil that does not reach the market," said Neelesh Nerurkar, a former senior official of the US Department of Energy.
The Trump administration has agreed to release hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves, ease some sanctions against Russian oil and take domestic actions to accelerate crude oil in the US.
However, those measures hardly slowed down the soaring oil prices worldwide. Brent oil reached 112 USD/barrel on March 20, fluctuating near its highest level in 3 and a half years. Gasoline prices in the US also increased sharply, with a national average of nearly 4 USD/gallon.
In the context of increasing market scarcity, US officials support the idea of pumping about 140 million barrels of Iranian oil into the market. Officials believe that this amount of oil will be purchased by US allies, reducing concerns about short-term supply.
On March 20, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called this move "using Iranian oil to counter Tehran to keep prices low while we continue Operation Epic Fury". "Iran will have difficulty accessing any revenue and the US will continue to maintain maximum pressure on Iran as well as its ability to access the international financial system" - he wrote on X.
