Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated at a White House briefing on Wednesday that the United States will not extend the sanctions waivers that had temporarily allowed purchases of Russian and Iranian oil without incurring US penalties.The general licenses for Iranian and Russian oil will not be renewed. Before March 11th, that oil was on the ocean. Thus, everything has been utilised," Bessent informed reporters.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Treasury Department authorised the waivers in March as Iran's Strait of Hormuz limitations constricted the world's oil supply and increased the price of crude.

Bessent stated last month that the Iranian waiver, which was granted on March 20, had helped ease the strain on the energy supply during the conflict by enabling some 140 million barrels of oil to reach international markets. The expiration date of such waiver is April 19.
India was granted a 30-day sanctions waiver by the US on March 5, allowing it to purchase Russian oil in spite of the sanctions imposed due to the conflict in Ukraine. A few other countries were granted the waiver a few days later. On April 11, that waiver came to an end.

The Trump administration has halted its efforts to use sanctions waivers to open up oil supplies and cut skyrocketing global energy costs, as both licenses are now scheduled to expire without renewal.