Scott Bessent says actions will increase oil supply and bring down prices, but long-term effects in question
The US may soon remove sanctions on Iranian oil stranded on tankers at sea, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said on Thursday as Washington seeks to curb prices soaring over Iran’s closure of the strait of Hormuz.
“In the coming days, we may un-sanction the Iranian oil that’s on the water. It’s about 140m barrels,” Bessent said during an appearance on Fox Business Network’s Mornings with Maria.
“That’s about 10 days to two weeks of supply that the Iranians had been pushing out that would have all gone to China,” he continued. “In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 to 14 days as we continue this campaign.”
Oil prices have been above $100 per barrel for much of the past two weeks as Iran has closed the strait of Hormuz to shipping and attacked tankers.
