Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, said he would not renew the sales authorizations for Iranian crude that had been proposed as a response to the surge in global oil prices during the Iran war.
On the 15th (local time), Minister Bessent attended a White House briefing and said, "We will not renew the general license for Russian crude," adding, "We will also not renew the general license for Iranian crude."
The "general license" that Minister Bessent mentioned refers to a temporary measure allowing purchases of crude oil and petroleum products from sanctioned countries.
Earlier, as oil prices soared due to the fallout from the Middle East war, causing fuel supply problems in some countries including India, the United States temporarily eased sanctions on Russian and Iranian crude last month.
For Russian crude, the sanctions were waived for 11 days, and for Iranian crude, there was a 30-day sanctions waiver, which is taken to mean the waivers will not be extended further.
In addition, Minister Bessent emphasized that the U.S. military's so-called "reverse blockade" on ships traveling to and from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will affect China.
Minister Bessent said, "China has purchased more than 90% of Iran's crude, which accounts for about 8% of China's energy demand," adding, "We believe China's purchases will be halted due to the strait blockade."
He went on to say, "Two Chinese banks received Seohan Engineering & Construction from the Treasury Department," adding, "If we can prove that Iranian funds flowed into those bank accounts, we are prepared to impose secondary sanctions."
"Secondary sanctions" are penalties imposed on third parties that conducted a transaction with designated targets, and are also called "third-party sanctions."
Meanwhile, on the day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) was also said to have imposed sanctions under the Iran-focused "Operation Economic Fury" announced the previous day, targeting individuals, corporations, and ships linked to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, the Iranian Supreme National Security Council secretary general and military adviser to the supreme leader, who was removed during the war.
OFAC said, "Shamkhani is leading Iranian-Russian oil sales worth billions of dollars," adding, "This round of sanctions is the largest single action the Trump administration has taken against Iran to date."