Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is weighing Iranian crude oil as the oil price crisis reshapes global energy diplomacy in real time, he revealed Thursday. Bessent said the administration is considering temporarily lifting sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude stranded on tankers, a move that would represent one of the most significant energy diplomacy decisions of the current administration’s tenure.
The reshaping of global energy diplomacy by Iran’s Hormuz blockade has been rapid and far-reaching. The blockade has removed between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily supply from global markets for close to two weeks, forcing governments, international organizations, and energy companies to improvise responses that go well beyond established energy diplomatic protocols.
Bessent confirmed the Iranian crude on tankers, originally heading toward Chinese buyers, as a central element in the administration’s energy diplomatic calculus. A targeted temporary waiver could redirect approximately 140 million barrels to global markets, providing roughly two weeks of price support during the US campaign to resolve the Hormuz crisis.
Earlier energy diplomacy achievements include a Treasury waiver for Russian oil that added approximately 130 million barrels to world supply and a coordinated G7 strategic petroleum reserve release. An additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel commitment is also being planned, while the administration has explicitly ruled out financial market intervention.
Energy diplomacy analysts assessed the Iranian crude decision’s place in the broader reshaping of diplomatic norms. They noted that using oil waivers as energy diplomacy tools against the very country the waivers benefit creates a paradox at the heart of the diplomatic strategy. Compliance experts warned that the energy diplomatic precedent set by enabling Iranian oil revenues — providing funds for military activities and proxy support — could reshape global energy diplomacy in ways that give future oil-exporting adversaries new diplomatic leverage over oil-importing nations.