Ukraine ally Britain eases new sanctions on Russian oil as fuel prices surge over Iran war
LONDON: The UK government has delayed some new sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to shelter Britons from the cost-of-living squeeze triggered by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Iran war.
A trade license that came into effect Wednesday permits the import of Russian oil that has been refined into jet fuel and diesel in third countries such as India and Turkiye. The UK announced in October that it would ban imports of those products.
The US-Israeli war on Iran and Iran’s retaliatory grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes, has sent fuel prices soaring around the world and sparked concerns about a shortage of jet fuel.
Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the British government of “choosing to buy dirty Russian oil.”
