Treasury Department issues temporary license for Iranian oil sales

Energy & Environment Treasury Department issues temporary license for Iranian oil sales Comments: by Rachel Frazin - 06/22/26 10:07 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Rachel Frazin - 06/22/26 10:07 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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The Treasury Department on Monday move to temporarily allow the sale of Iranian oil, issuing a 60 day “general license” that lifts restrictions normally in place on the commodity.

“In line with the ongoing productive talks in Switzerland, Iran has committed to free and open transit in the Strait of Hormuz and to permit International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors into their country,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on the social platform X.

“As part of the framework, Treasury has issued a temporary 60-day general license authorizing the production, delivery, and sale of Iranian oil,” Bessent said.

The license will allow for transactions related to “the production, sale, delivery, or offloading of … crude oil, petrochemical products, or petroleum products” of Iranian origin that are typically prohibited.

The move is not a surprise — the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran unveiled last week said the U.S. would immediately issue waivers of sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

It’s part of a larger ceasefire deal that was also expected to include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping choke point. The U.S. government has said that the strait is now open, though over the weekend, Iran’s military said it was closing the waterway yet again.

The sanctions waiver is expected to boost Iran’s economy — both increasing the number of barrels that it can sell and possibly allowing it to get a higher price for those barrels.

This story was updated at 10:25 a.m.