US Extends Russian Oil Waiver As Bessent Urges Tougher Iran Sanctions

RFE
18 May 2026, 23:31 GMT+10

WASHINGTON -- The US Treasury Department has extended for another 30 days a sanctions waiver allowing at-risk countries to purchase Russian oil shipments at sea, as supply disruptions linked to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continue to roil global energy markets.

US Treasury is issuing a temporary 30-day general license to provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessentsaid in a post on X.

Bessent said the waiver would help stabilize the physical crude market and ensure oil reaches the most energy-vulnerable countries while limiting Chinas ability to stockpile discounted Russian oil.

The decision highlights the increasingly difficult balancing act facing Washington and its allies as they seek to sustain pressure on Moscow over its war against Ukraine while also trying to prevent a wider energy shock tied to escalating tensions with Iran.

The waiver expired over the weekend before being renewed after several poorer countries requested more time to secure supplies disrupted by the closure of Persian Gulf shipping routes, according to a source familiar with the decision. The countries were not identified.

Oil markets remained volatile despite the extension. Brent crude rose about 1.5 percent on May 18 to roughly $111 a barrel amid continuing concerns over Gulf supplies.

Bessent Presses Allies On Iran

Speaking in Paris during a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, Bessent called on allies to strengthen enforcement of sanctions on Tehran, even as reports emerged that Washington may be considering limited sanctions relief as part of broader diplomatic negotiations.

We call upon all of our G7 and indeed all of our allies and the rest of the world to follow the sanctions regime, so that we can crack down on the illicit finance that is fueling the Iranian war machine and give this money back to the Iranian people, Bessent told reporters.

Irans semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported that Washington had proposed a temporary easing of Iranian oil sanctions as part of talks aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and advancing a possible peace agreement.

According to the report, which cited a source close to the negotiations, any sanctions relief would only take effect after a final agreement is reached.

There has been no comment from Washington on Tasnim's claims.

The Russian oil waiver was first introduced in March after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered fears of supply shortages and sharp spikes in global crude prices.

Although the measure has done little to ease prices, it has enabled major buyers, including India, to continue importing Russian crude despite expanded US sanctions targeting Moscows energy sector.

Kyiv Calls For More Pressure On Russia

At the same G7 gathering, Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko urged allies to impose additional sanctions on Russia.

We need to continue to pressure Russia, to put additional sanctions on Russia, Marchenko said.

Some sanctions analysts said the repeated extensions underscore how energy market pressures are constraining Western efforts to isolate Moscow economically.

It was just inevitable, Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at Obsidian Risk Advisors, told RFE/RL on May 18. Once that precedent was set, it ensured future extensions until normalization.

US Extends Russian Oil Waiver As Bessent Urges Tougher Iran Sanctions