Energy & Environment

Trump administration reverses course, extends Russian oil sanctions waiver

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/17/26 10:59 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 04/17/26 10:59 PM ET

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The Trump administration on Friday reversed course and extended a waiver on sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products amid the Iran war, just days after a top Cabinet official said the U.S. would not be doing so.

A license allowing countries to purchase Russian oil from Friday through May 16 was posted on the Treasury Department’s website.

The U.S. replaced a 30-day waiver that expired last week as part of the administration’s attempt to control energy prices amid cost hikes instigated by the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the waiver would not be extended, the outlet also reported. He added that the waiver on Iranian oil would also not be extended.

Senate Democrats called the reversal “shameful and a 180-degree reversal from Secretary Bessent, just two days after he pledged not to extend sanctions relief for Russia.”

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked in a joint statement what message the extension sends following recent Russian attacks on Ukraine amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on the European country.

“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 stated. “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 said.

Bessent said last month that the “narrowly tailored” measure would “not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”

President Trump “is taking decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets and working to keep prices low as we address the threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime,” he added in a post on the social platform X.

Energy prices skyrocketed following the start of the conflict with Iran. The U.S. and Iran agreed to a 14-day ceasefire agreement last week. The deal required the Strait of Hormuz to reopen to help alleviate oil prices.

The strait opened twice following the start of the ceasefire, but closed later on Friday after it reopened a second time earlier in the day. Iranian speaker of parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf, said this was due to the U.S. blockade in the strait, which was implemented on Monday.

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