Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is considering an Iranian crude oil move that analysts say could reshape crisis response norms in global energy markets, he revealed Thursday. Bessent said the administration may temporarily lift sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian crude stranded on tankers — a step that, if taken, would establish a new norm for how oil-market crises justify selective suspensions of major country sanctions.
The potential reshaping of crisis response norms reflects the extraordinary circumstances of the Hormuz blockade. Iran’s closure has removed between 10 and 14 million barrels of daily supply from global markets for close to two weeks, creating conditions severe enough to prompt consideration of measures that would not normally be contemplated, including the selective suspension of comprehensive oil sanctions against a country classified as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Bessent confirmed the Iranian crude on tankers, originally heading toward Chinese buyers, as the oil at the center of the norm-reshaping decision. A targeted temporary waiver could redirect approximately 140 million barrels to global markets, providing roughly two weeks of price support while the US campaign against the Hormuz blockade continues.
Earlier crisis response measures have already pushed norms, including a waiver for Russian oil that added approximately 130 million barrels to world supply. An additional unilateral US Strategic Petroleum Reserve release beyond the G7’s 400 million barrel commitment is also being planned, while the administration has explicitly ruled out financial market intervention.
Analysts focused specifically on the norm-reshaping implications. Sanctions policy specialists warned that each norm pushed during the Hormuz crisis — from the Russian waiver to the potential Iranian waiver — establishes a precedent that constrains future administrations and emboldens future adversaries. Critics argued that reshaping crisis response norms to include selective sanctions suspensions under market pressure could permanently alter the calculus of sanctions effectiveness, making future oil sanctions less credible as deterrence tools.