U.S. Temporarily Relaxes Iran Oil Sanctions, Giving Tehran a Major Financial Boost

The United States signed a formal document today allowing Iran to sell oil on the open market in U.S. dollars, under a two-month waiver from sanctions on its oil industry. The move also covers petrochemical products and, according to the article, could help Iran rebuild the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and replenish military stockpiles damaged in the latest war.

The authorization is described as a major financial and strategic shift, because the money would flow through official banking channels under the supervision of Iran’s central bank, which is linked to the Revolutionary Guard. Energy experts estimate that nearly 1.5 million barrels of Iranian oil a day could return to the global market, potentially bringing in billions of dollars in the short term. The waiver also frees part of Iran’s frozen assets held in foreign banks.

U.S. Treasury officials said the step is meant to be a temporary economic incentive to pressure Tehran into meeting the terms of a memorandum of understanding reached at the Bürgenstock summit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that, following productive talks in Switzerland, Iran committed to free passage through the Strait of Hormuz and to letting International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into the country. He said Treasury issued a temporary general license for 60 days to allow the production, supply and sale of Iranian oil.

The limited window is meant to keep leverage in Washington’s hands as it seeks a permanent, broader deal to end the war, contingent on dismantling Iran’s nuclear project. But U.S. commentators warn that Tehran will use the oil issue as leverage to drag out the talks. Vice President JD Vance said the final agreement is the goal, adding, “We laid the foundations. We did not build the house, but we laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.”