The United States conditionally relaxes restrictions; Iran responds

Why is AI urgently clarifying the situation of oil backlog in Iran?

The United States has conditionally eased sanctions on Iranian oil.

On the 20th, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing the delivery and sale of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products that had already been loaded as of that day, to increase oil market supply.

According to this license, shipments of Iranian crude oil and petroleum products loaded by the end of the day on the 20th Eastern Time can be sold and delivered normally from now until April 19.

[Image source: foreign media]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the Treasury Department has issued “a tailored short-term authorization allowing the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea.” Yellen said, “This temporary, short-term authorization is strictly limited to oil already in transit and does not permit new purchases or production.”

In an interview with the media on the 19th, Yellen stated that approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian oil have been shipped or are stored at sea.

However, Iranian Oil Minister spokesperson Saman Ghodusi responded on X on the 20th that Iran currently has no remaining oil stranded at sea or supplied to the international market. He said the U.S. Treasury Secretary’s statement “is only meant to give hope to buyers.”

The ongoing escalation of conflict caused by U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran has led to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a sharp rise in international oil prices, and continued increases in domestic U.S. gasoline and diesel prices.

Source | Xinhua News Agency

Review | Lu Changyin

Editing | Xu Luming

Proofreading | Guo Weitong