WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday extended its pause on sanctions on Russian oil shipments to ease shortages from the Iran war, days after Secretary Scott Bessent ruled out such a move.
The so-called general license means U.S. sanctions will not apply for 30 days on deliveries of Russian oil that has been loaded on tankers as of Friday. It extended a similar 30-day license issued in March for Russian oil that had been loaded by March 11. The extension underscores how the fallout from the Iran war has boosted Moscow’s ability to profit from its energy exports, which had been restrained since the invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Bessent ruled out extending the license. “We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil,” he said. The administration did not immediately explain the reversal.
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Top Senate Democrats slammed the Trump administration over the reversal, calling it “ill-conceived” and “shameful” in a statement issued shortly after the announcement was made.
“This decision is shameful and a 180-degree reversal from Secretary Bessent,” Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jeanne Shaheen, Senate Demoratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren said in the joint statement.
“Make no mistake, Putin has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of President Trump’s war against Iran, as Russia saw oil revenues nearly double in March,” the joint statement read. “Enough is enough.”
