U.S. won’t renew Iranian, Russian oil waivers: Bessent

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday(April 24, 2026) that the U.S. does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea. And, he said, a renewal of the one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table.

“Not the Iranians,” Mr. Bessent told The Associated Press. “We have the blockade, and there’s no oil coming out.” “And we think in the next two, three days, they’re going to have to start shuttering production, which will be very bad for their wells.” Mr. Bessent’s statements come as the world is on edge over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, and global energy markets have been ensnarled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.