Russian Oil Sanctions’ Exemption Extended
RUSSIA – The US announced on Friday that the Russian oil sanctions’ exemption had been extended for another month, as the Iran war set the oil prices on a rise.
The move comes just two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US would not extend such an exemption on the sale of Russian oil.
Gas prices have skyrocketed since the war in the Middle East began on Feb. 28, with the average gas price in the US surging my more than 30% to more than $4 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline and more than 40% to over $5 a gallon for diesel fuel, according to numbers released by the American Automobile Association (AAA).
The Trump administration initially loosened restrictions on Russian oil exports that were stranded at sea after the war with Iran rattled energy markets, with the goal of lowering oil prices by allowing countries to legally purchase hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil that the US had blacklisted.
As the war has extended into its second month, and with gas prices in the US continuing to surge upward, the initial sanctions waiver on Russian oil that expired on April 11 will now be continued and extended until May 16.
The last-minute renewal of Russia’s sanctions exemption came as Iran announced earlier on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that once carried 20% of the world’s oil, was completely open to all commercial ships.
President Donald Trump celebrated the move by claiming on a social media post that the “Hormuz Strait situation is over” and that Iran had agreed to never close the waterway again.
Iran, however, has made no such commitment. The country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the waterway would be open “for the remaining period of cease-fire” between the US and Iran, which is set to expire next week. American and Iranian negotiators are expected to meet for another round of peace talks in Pakistan before the truce ends.
Democratic lawmakers in the US Senate condemned Trump’s extension of the sanctions exemption, with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and top Democratic members of the chamber, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren, issuing a joint rebuke of the move.
“This decision is shameful and a 180-degree reversal from Secretary Bessent, just two days after he pledged not to extend sanctions relief for Russia,” their statement read. “This week, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched the largest aerial attack of the year so far on Ukraine, killing 18 and the Administration’s response is to relax sanctions on the Kremlin yet again. What kind of message does this move send?”
While Trump has downplayed the skyrocketing gas prices and economic repercussions of the war against Iran, the Democratic senators pointed out that the president’s move to extend the sanctions exemption benefits Russia the most.
“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 senators continued. “Enough is enough. President Trump needs to stop letting Putin play him for a fool and impose additional sanctions on Putin, who is clearly not feeling sufficient pressure from this President.”
“If President Trump does not change course, the war in Ukraine will continue and more innocent people will die,” they added.
