The Treasury Department on Monday granted Iran permission to sell oil for 60 days without fear of U.S. sanctions for the first time in decades, marking a major step in carrying out President Donald Trump’s framework deal with Iran.
The general license from Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control allows the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil until Aug. 21, as well as imports of the crude into the United States. The move essentially eases the sanctions the U.S. began imposing on Iran’s oil sector in 1979 and has ratcheted up since tensions with Iran flared. The sanctions have crippled Tehran’s exports and left the country to sell crude mostly to China at a heavy discount.
Trump on Wednesday signed a framework agreement with Tehran to halt what had been four months of hostilities after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said Iran has committed to “free and open transit” in Hormuz and to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency into the country.
Still, Iran said over the weekend that it would once again close Hormuz, a key waterway connecting oil production in the Middle East to the global crude market.
