U.S. Issues One-Month Waiver for Iranian Oil Shipments at Sea Amid Sanctions

The United States Treasury has authorized a limited, time-bound waiver allowing the delivery and sale of Iranian-origin crude oil already loaded on vessels before March 20, 2026, granting a one-month window until April 19, even as broader sanctions on Iran remain firmly in place.

File Photo of Kharg Island; Via: Adam Cochran

In an official General License U issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the U.S. said that “all transactions… ordinarily incident and necessary to the sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil or petroleum products of Iranian origin loaded on any vessel… on or before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, March 20, 2026 are authorized through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time, April 19, 2026,” effectively creating a narrowly defined compliance window for cargoes already in transit.

The license explicitly covers operational and logistical activities required to complete such deliveries, stating that permitted transactions include those necessary for “safe docking and anchoring of vessels,” “preservation of the health or safety of the crew,” and services such as “vessel management, crewing, bunkering, piloting, registration, flagging, insurance, classification, and salvage,” underscoring that the waiver is designed to manage cargoes already in motion rather than enable fresh trade flows.

At the same time, Washington made clear that the relaxation is tightly circumscribed and does not alter the broader sanctions regime, stating that the license “does not authorize… any other transactions or activities prohibited by any other Executive order,” thereby maintaining the wider legal architecture targeting Iran’s energy, financial, and industrial sectors.

The authorization also clarifies that Iranian-origin crude covered under this waiver includes supplies produced by entities already sanctioned under multiple U.S. regulatory frameworks, including the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations and Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, reinforcing that the measure is procedural rather than policy-driven in nature.

Earlier on March 6, the United States issued a time-bound waiver allowing Indian refiners to receive Russian crude already stranded at sea, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying the move was intended to “ensure oil continues flowing into global markets” as the Iran war disrupted shipping and supply chains around the Strait of Hormuz, even as Washington stressed the authorization was “deliberately short-term” and would not significantly benefit Russia; the decision, formalized under OFAC General License 133 and valid until April 4, also signalled an expectation that India would deepen energy purchases from the United States, triggering political pushback in New Delhi where opposition leaders questioned the framing of the U.S. having effectively “allowed” India to buy oil, raising concerns over energy sovereignty amid growing external pressure on procurement choices. 

A week later, on March 13, Washington expanded this approach globally through OFAC General License 134, authorizing the sale and delivery of Russian crude already loaded on vessels before March 12, with Bessent stating the U.S. was taking “decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets” and providing “a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea,” while emphasizing the measure was “narrowly tailored” and “short-term”; the license allowed transactions “ordinarily incident and necessary” to delivery, including docking, insurance and crew safety, even for cargoes linked to sanctioned entities, but stopped short of any broader sanctions relief, highlighting a calibrated U.S. strategy to prevent supply shocks as the Hormuz crisis tightened flows while still maintaining pressure on Russia.

Earlier today, U.S. President Donald Trump signalled that Washington may be nearing the end of its military campaign against Iran, saying the U.S. is “very close” to achieving its objectives, which he defined as degrading Iran’s missile capabilities, dismantling its defence infrastructure and preventing any pathway to nuclear capability, while adding that once these goals are secured, the burden of securing the Strait of Hormuz should shift to “other nations who use it,” with the United States stepping back except in a supporting role if required.

The timing of the waiver comes amid escalating conflict across West Asia, disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and mounting pressure on global energy flows, with governments including India already acknowledging exposure to Middle East supply chains; while the U.S. move provides a temporary operational exit route for cargoes already at sea, it does not ease structural supply constraints or geopolitical risks, leaving energy-importing economies navigating a tightening and increasingly politicized global market.

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