The United States may remove sanctions in the coming days on about 140 million barrels of Iranian oil stranded aboard tankers at sea, according to The Guardian, which cited recent comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 

The Treasury chief said the oil amounted to roughly 10 days to two weeks of supply and had been headed to China, according to the report. He said Washington could use those barrels “against the Iranians” to keep prices down over the next 10 to 14 days while continuing its broader campaign.

The department recently took a similar step to temporarily allow sales of sanctioned Russian oil stranded on tankers, a measure Bessent said added about 130 million barrels to global supplies, the news outlet said. 

A source familiar with Treasury planning told The Guardian that one option under consideration would be a waiver similar to the Russian arrangement, allowing the sale of Iranian crude already stranded at sea for a limited period. The source said such a waiver could redirect cargoes originally bound for China into broader global markets and reduce Iran’s leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

Some experts questioned the longer-term effect of the proposal and warned it could end up benefiting Tehran financially. David Tannenbaum of Blackstone Compliance Services told the BBC the idea was “bananas,” while Alex Zerden of Capitol Peak Strategies told The New York Times that Iran would likely profit from the sales and that the measure would not reassure markets, the newspaper reported.

Read more at The Guardian