The US has authorized the sale of Iranian oil and petroleum products as part of the agreement to end the war against Tehran that President Donald Trump signed last week, a sweeping change after years of increasingly punitive economic sanctions.
The US Treasury Department issued a temporary, 60-day license allowing Iran to sell some of its energy exports through Aug. 21. It opens the door for eventually ending many sanctions programs as part of negotiations between the two nations.
The waiver even allows the US to import Iranian crude oil and other petrochemical and petroleum products. The US hasn’t had significant imports of crude or fuel from Iran since the 1990s, according to US Energy Information Administration data.
Iran had already been rushing to get millions of barrels of its oil into the global market since the peace pact with the US was announced last week. That supply will now – in theory – be able to go anywhere, helping countries that had struggled with supply because of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
Prior to Monday’s announcement, most if not all of Iran’s crude had been going to China, offering refineries in the Asian country cheap barrels.
Shipowners, traders and buyers will now have to evaluate whether they have time to source, finance and complete such purchases, after years of not dealing with Iran because of sanctions. Iran also has a large fleet of ships that can deliver the country’s cargoes.
The deal that Trump signed on June 17 also requires the US to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and eventually release billions of dollars of Iranian assets in various jurisdictions.
Iran’s economy has been battered by years of sanctions and currency depreciation, and Tehran saw widespread anti-government protests in the months before the US and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
The waiver will offer some economic relief for Tehran’s leaders, with additional licenses likely coming in the next few days. But the concessions have also fueled domestic criticism in the US – including from some Republicans – that the Trump administration is giving Tehran an economic lifeline that could end up funding terrorism in the region.
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