The United States has ruled out granting any further exemption from sanctions for the purchase of Russian or Iranian oil.

 

Making this announcement at a press conference at the White House, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the existing waivers will not be renewed. He said the oil covered under earlier exemptions was already in transit prior to March 11, adding that all that has been used.

 

Earlier, on the 5th of last month, the US issued a 30-day sanctions waiver allowing India to buy Russian oil despite restrictions linked to the Ukraine war. The waiver was later extended to some other countries before expiring on the 11th of this month.

 

Meanwhile, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed fresh sanctions targeting what it described as Iran’s illicit oil transportation infrastructure, including around two dozen individuals, companies, and vessels.