Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed Thursday that Iranian crude oil stranded on tankers may be America’s emergency supply ace card in the battle against oil prices above $100 per barrel, announcing the administration is considering temporarily lifting sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude in international waters. Bessent said the ace card, if played, would help offset the supply shortfall created by Iran’s Hormuz blockade.
Iran’s Hormuz blockade has created a supply emergency that has stretched the administration’s response capacity, removing between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily supply from global markets for close to two weeks. The sustained price surge has required the administration to exhaust multiple supply options, with the Iranian crude waiver representing what Bessent characterized as a significant available resource not yet deployed.
Bessent confirmed the approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude on tankers, originally destined for Chinese ports, as the ace card supply. A targeted temporary waiver would allow this oil to reach global buyers, he said, providing roughly two weeks of supply support during the critical phase of the US campaign to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier cards in the supply hand include a Treasury waiver for Russian oil that directed approximately 130 million barrels to world markets. An additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel commitment is also being planned, alongside a firm policy against any financial market intervention.
Compliance experts and national security analysts cautioned about the ace card metaphor. They warned that playing the Iranian crude card, while potentially effective in the short term, would generate revenues for the Tehran regime that could fund military activities and regional proxy support. Critics argued that an ace card that simultaneously benefits an adversary is a more complicated play than the metaphor suggests, carrying strategic costs that could outlast the supply benefit by many months.
