In a bid to curb rising oil prices, the United States may soon lift sanctions on Iranian oil to boost global supply, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.
“In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil that's on the water. It's about 140 million barrels,” Bessent told Fox Business. “So, depending on how you count it, that's 10 days to two weeks of supply,” he added.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: Plans to lift sanctions on Iranian oil shipments
(Video: Fox News)
The U.S. Treasury recently took a similar step to allow the sale of sanctioned Russian oil, which it said added 130 million barrels to global supply. Bessent said Washington is considering further measures, including releasing up to 400 million barrels from strategic petroleum reserves. He added that the administration is acting to offset a shortfall of 10 million to 14 million barrels per day caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent also said President Donald Trump is expected to speak with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about involving Japan’s navy in securing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for Japan’s oil imports. “She's very pro-U.S. I think we're going to have a very good discussion today,” he said.
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US President Donald Trump denies the attack was coordinated
(Photo: Nathan Howard / Getty Images/AFP)
Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report, Israel’s strike on an Iranian gas field on Wednesday was coordinated with the United States but is unlikely to be repeated. Three Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike had been coordinated despite Trump’s public statement that he had no prior knowledge.
The Israeli strike prompted Iranian attacks on energy infrastructure in Qatar and across the Middle East, marking a further escalation in the global energy crisis. Following the strike, Trump wrote on social media that Washington “knew nothing about this specific attack,” and that Israel would not strike the gas field again unless Iran targets Qatar once more.
The Israeli officials said they were not surprised by Trump’s remarks, describing the dynamic as similar to previous incidents. After Israeli strikes on Iranian fuel depots several weeks ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “In this particular case, these were not our strikes.”