United States termination of Iran ' s oil sanctions exemption

On 8 July, according to the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) local time, on 7 July, the United States withdrew a general licence to allow Iranian oil sales, and the related winding-up will be allowed to continue until 0:00 Eastern United States time on 17 July. As a result, international oil prices have risen. The Iranian side has not yet responded. According to anonymous United States officials, preliminary indications that “Iran has recently opened fire on three merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz” would be “unacceptable” and would have the corresponding consequences. The United States officials also stated that, despite the escalation, the United States negotiators “continue to advance in good faith towards a final agreement with Iran”. On 22 June, United States Treasury Secretary Besent announced that, as part of the framework for United States-Iran negotiations, the United States Treasury Department had issued a 60-day general permit authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil. According to the announcement issued the same day by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury, the production, delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products previously prohibited by various United States executive orders and regulations were exempted until 21 August 2026. (In Russian)