Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented Iranian crude oil as the logical next step in the administration’s escalating supply response to the Hormuz crisis Thursday, revealing the US is considering temporarily lifting sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude stranded on tankers. Bessent said the logical progression from Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases to Russian oil waivers now points toward Iranian crude as the next available supply measure.
The logical progression of the supply response has been driven by the escalating scale of the Hormuz crisis. Iran’s blockade has removed between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily supply from global markets for close to two weeks, with each successive supply measure — from reserve releases to the Russian oil waiver — representing a step up in the ambition and the strategic complexity of the response.
Bessent confirmed the Iranian crude on tankers, originally heading toward Chinese ports, as the logical next step. A targeted temporary waiver could redirect approximately 140 million barrels to global buyers, providing roughly two weeks of price support while the US campaign to resolve the Hormuz crisis continues.
The logical progression has already produced a Treasury waiver for Russian oil that added approximately 130 million barrels to world supply. A unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel commitment is also being prepared as part of the same progression, while the administration has ruled out financial market intervention as a step it will not take.
Experts challenged the logical next step framing. Compliance professionals and national security analysts warned that logical progressions in crisis management can lead to outcomes that seem reasonable at each individual step but are unacceptable in their totality. They argued that enabling Iranian oil revenues — providing funds for military activities and proxy support — is a step that should not be taken simply because it is the logical next one in a progression driven by market pressure.