US extends Russian oil sanctions waiver as Iran war squeezes supply

WASHINGTON — The US Treasury Department has extended a sanctions waiver on Russian oil shipments amid supply shortages caused by the US-Israel-Iran war.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X Monday that his department was issuing a temporary 30-day so-called general license “to provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea.”

“This general license will help stabilize the physical crude market and ensure oil reaches the most energy-vulnerable countries,” Bessent said.

The general license applies only to Russian oil loaded onto tankers that are currently at sea. The Trump administration approved a 30-day waiver temporarily lifting the sanctions in March, before renewing it in April.

The latest extension comes as President Donald Trump threatened to restart military operations as negotiations with Iran stall over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and curbing the country’s nuclear program.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.