Oil prices rise as U.S. revokes Iran oil export waiver

Oil prices rose after the Trump administration revoked a waiver that had allowed Iran to sell oil, replacing it with a narrower license that bars new sales and forces companies to wind down existing transactions by July 17. Treasury Department rules require payments tied to any authorized business to go into a blocked U.S. account.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License X1 on Tuesday, supplanting General License X, the June waiver that had been set to run until at least Aug. 21 as part of a memorandum of understanding and interim peace deal between the United States and Iran.

The reversal came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked three tankers in or near the Strait of Hormuz, including a liquefied natural gas tanker, an oil supertanker and a third vessel. The Joint Maritime Information Center raised the threat level in the strait to severe, warning mariners to use extreme vigilance. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center raised the alert to severe after two vessels were hit by unknown projectiles and one by a drone. Two of the targeted ships were from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of which condemned the attacks.

A U.S. official called the agreement “performance-based,” saying Iran only benefits if it shows “good behavior” while negotiators work toward a final deal in good faith. Scott Bessent said last week that China remained the main purchaser of Iranian oil after sanctions were eased, even with the threat of sanctions snapback hanging over buyers.

The Strait of Hormuz handles a major share of global energy trade. Gasoline is closing in on $4 a gallon. Republicans and Democrats had already criticized the administration for offering Iran upfront sanctions relief before it made concessions on its nuclear program.