For years, Iran sold its crude at steep discounts because nobody wanted to risk the wrath of US sanctions enforcement. That era, according to Iran’s top parliamentary official, is over.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, declared that Iran is now selling its crude oil at a 20% markup, a dramatic reversal from the fire-sale pricing that defined the sanctions era. The shift follows a 60-day sanctions waiver issued by the US Treasury on June 22, allowing Iran to sell oil and petrochemical products as part of broader negotiations over frozen assets and regional tensions.
From discounts to premiums
The 60-day waiver changed that calculus overnight. With the legal risk of buying Iranian oil temporarily removed, Tehran can now price its crude closer to, and apparently above, prevailing market rates. Ghalibaf’s claim of a 20% markup suggests Iran is capitalizing aggressively on the window.
Ghalibaf has also discussed the unfreezing of $12 billion in Iranian assets as part of the ongoing diplomatic process. The Speaker indicated that oil prices could reach $140 per barrel this year, a level not seen since the commodity supercycle of 2008.
