Iran Gets Oil Trading Respite from US
(Update) June 22, 2026, 7:10 PM GMT: Article updated with comment in final paragraph.
The US has authorized the sale of Iranian oil and fuels as part of an agreement to end the war against Tehran, a sweeping change after years of economic sanctions.
The US Treasury Department issued a wide-ranging 60-day license that allows Iran to sell crude and petroleum products through Aug. 21. The license, which allows payments to be made in US dollars, comes as both sides are engaged in fragile discussions for a lasting peace deal.
The waiver even allows the US to import Iranian crude oil and other petrochemical and petroleum products, opening the door for the first such shipments in decades.
The stunning reversal comes after almost a decade of sanctions including a "maximum pressure" campaign to cripple Iran's economy, implemented by President Donald Trump after he pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran in his first term.
"This waiver doesn't just weaken the pressure campaign - it puts it into reverse," said Brett Erickson, a managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors. "Washington spent months building economic leverage and weeks handing Iran a path around it. What took months to build will be dismantled in a fraction of the time."
A potential flood of Iranian oil into the global market is also fueling growing expectations for a near-term glut of supplies, with prices falling to levels not seen since the war began in late February. Global benchmark Brent traded near $77 a barrel on Monday.
Iran had already been rushing to get millions of barrels of its oil into the global market since the peace pact with the US was announced last week.
That supply will now be able to help countries, in theory, weather the worst supply disruption in the history of the oil market triggered by the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Any resumption in Iranian flows to the US would mark a sea-change for years of established trade routes in the global market. The US hasn't had significant imports of crude or fuel from Iran since the 1990s, according to US Energy Information Administration data.
Still, traders and analysts warned it may be too soon to tell whether the rewards of moving Iranian oil again outweigh the risks, given there are still extensive EU sanctions in place.
"I think the practical effect of this is still probably going to be pretty muted," said Richard Nephew, senior research scholar at Columbia's Center on Global Energy Policy, citing lingering financial and logistical hurdles.
"Any realistic destination for most Iran stuff is still going to be China and maybe India." Nephew added.
Prior to Monday's announcement, most if not all of Iran's crude had been going to China, offering refineries in the Asian country cheap barrels. India, meanwhile, purchased its first cargo of Iranian oil since 2019 during the war.
Shipowners, traders and buyers will now have to evaluate whether they have time to source, finance and complete such purchases, after years of not dealing with Iran because of sanctions. Iran also has a large fleet of ships that can deliver the country's cargoes.
The Treasury's move on Monday also allows for movement of the cargoes on previously sanctioned vessels. The US had sanctioned an extensive number of vessels due to their involvement in Iranian oil trade previously.
The deal that Trump signed on June 17 also requires the US to lift its blockade of Iranian ports and eventually release billions of dollars of Iranian assets in various jurisdictions.
Iran's economy has been battered by years of sanctions and currency depreciation, and Tehran saw widespread anti-government protests in the months before the US and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
The waiver will offer some economic relief for Tehran's leaders, with additional licenses likely coming in the next few days. But the concessions have also fueled domestic criticism in the US - including from some Republicans - that the Trump administration is giving Tehran an economic lifeline that could end up funding terrorism in the region.
"The shackles are off Iran's oil sales," said Edward Fishman, a former State Department official involved in drafting sanctions legislation against the Persian Gulf nation. "Previously, Iran was exporting all of its oil to China at steep discounts. Now it will be able to sell oil to many other countries at market prices. It's a huge windfall."
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