Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent identified Iranian crude oil stranded on tankers as a key navigation tool for managing the historic oil supply shock caused by Iran’s Strait of Hormuz closure, he revealed Thursday. Bessent confirmed the administration is considering temporarily lifting sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude in international waters, to help bring down oil prices that have exceeded $100 per barrel for close to two weeks.
The Hormuz closure has created a supply shock of historic proportions, removing between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily oil supply from global markets and generating one of the sharpest and most sustained price surges in recent global energy history. Navigating the shock has required the administration to consider supply tools that go well beyond normal crisis response measures.
Bessent said the stranded Iranian crude, originally heading toward Chinese ports, can serve as a navigation aid through the most acute phase of the shock. A targeted temporary waiver could redirect this oil to global buyers, providing roughly two weeks of supply support while the US continues its efforts to force Iran to reopen the strait.
The Treasury has previously used comparable navigation tools, including a waiver for Russian oil that directed approximately 130 million barrels to world supply. An additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel joint commitment is also being planned, while the administration has ruled out any engagement in financial oil market instruments.
Independent experts offered critical navigation guidance of their own. Compliance professionals and national security analysts warned that using Iranian crude as a navigation tool for the shock would simultaneously provide the Tehran regime with oil revenues to fund military activities and proxy support. Critics said the navigation metaphor obscures a strategic reality: every tool used to navigate the shock should be evaluated not just for its immediate directional effect but for its lasting consequences on the geopolitical landscape.