Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (front left), Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (center) — mediating the talks — and Army Chief of Staff and Field Marshal Asim Munir shake hands at Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on June 21 (local time), ahead of the start of formal US-Iran peace negotiations. [AFP]
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (front left), Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (center) — mediating the talks — and Army Chief of Staff and Field Marshal Asim Munir shake hands at Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on June 21 (local time), ahead of the start of formal US-Iran peace negotiations. [AFP]

A sanctions waiver on Iranian oil that Tehran secured during the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States took effect Monday (local time).

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on X, formerly Twitter, that day: "As part of productive talks in Switzerland, Iran has committed to guaranteeing free and open passage through the Strait of Hormuz and to accepting the return of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors." He added that the Treasury Department had issued a 60-day temporary general license authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil.

The general license allows Iran to sell crude oil, petroleum and petroleum derivatives on international markets without sanctions. It applies only for the 60 days during which formal US-Iran negotiations are under way. Bessent said the move was a reciprocal gesture recognizing Iran's good-faith steps at the first follow-up talks held in Switzerland after the MOU was signed — including agreeing to IAEA inspections and maintaining open passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The sanctions waiver runs until 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Aug. 21. According to major international media reports, Iran will be able to sell oil products and receive payment in US dollars during the exemption period.

How quickly Iran can ramp up oil exports remains unclear. Maritime blockades by US forces during the war constrained exports and left storage facilities at capacity, and some oil wells may have been shut down as a result.

Even so, analysts say the mere opening of a path for Iran to sell oil at market prices on the global stage represents a significant economic gain. US sanctions had long prevented Iran from selling oil and petroleum freely on international markets, forcing it to move crude through so-called shadow fleets — vessels that skirt sanctions to sell at steep discounts, primarily to China. In effect, China had been the main beneficiary, snapping up cheap Iranian oil made available by US sanctions.

The Treasury Department had previously allowed the temporary sale of Iranian crude stranded at sea in March, as a measure to stabilize international oil prices that had surged amid the prolonged war. Dollar-denominated payments were not permitted at the time, but the latest waiver extends that allowance — a step expected to help ease Iran's foreign currency shortage.

The Wall Street Journal cited an analysis by Miad Maleki, a former Treasury Department official who handled Iran sanctions, saying the measure effectively exempts Iranian financial institutions — including the central bank — from sanctions targeting not only nuclear activities but also terrorism. "This temporary sanctions relief represents a fundamental departure from the Iran sanctions architecture that Congress has built over the past 20 years," Maleki told the Journal. The Wall Street Journal noted the move "could revive concerns that Iran is receiving significant economic benefits before giving up any part of its nuclear program."

Daniel Tannenbaum, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, told The New York Times that the sanctions relief was premature compared with the Iran nuclear deal — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — concluded under the Barack Obama administration and scrapped during Donald Trump's first term. "It's worth noting that when the JCPOA was concluded, sanctions relief was not provided immediately," Tannenbaum said. "It came on 'Implementation Day,' six months after the IAEA verified that Iran had fulfilled its nuclear-related obligations."


kate01@heraldcorp.com