The United States announced that it will issue a fresh 30-day general license allowing countries, including India, to purchase energy from Russia without inviting sanctions from Washington.
The waiver aims at controlling global energy prices that have soared during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
The U.S. Treasury Department allowed purchases of the oil loaded on vessels as of Friday, April 17, through May 16, which is an extension of an original 30-day waiver that ended on April 11, according to an official document by the administration.
The development comes just two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would not be renewing the waiver that allowed countries to purchase oil from Russia without facing sanctions.
“We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil," Bessent said, adding “That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11, so all that has been used."
The previous waiver issued on March 20 enabled around 140 million barrels of Iranian oil to reach global markets, helping to ease pressure on global markets, Bessent said.
In retaliation for the February 28 joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran launched attacks across the Gulf, subsequently blocking the Strait of Hormuz — a critical waterway that accounts for nearly one-fifth of the global energy supplies.
What followed was a global energy crisis, prompting countries to press Washington to allow alternative supplies to reach markets.
On Friday, Iran announced the reopening of the strait, with global oil prices tumbling 9 per cent to about USD 90 a barrel.
However, the war has already caused the worst global energy supply disruption in history, according to the International Energy Agency.
Source: News18