US permitting Iranian tankers through Strait of Hormuz to keep oil markets supplied

CALGARY — US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the United States is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to maintain global energy supplies.Speaking to CNBC’s Brian Sullivan on Monday, Bessent said Iranian ships have continued to leave the Gulf despite the escalation of the ongoing conflict and disruptions to global shipping traffic.“The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we’ve let that happen to supply the rest of the world,” Bessent said.“We are seeing more and more fuel ships starting to go through.”Tanker traffic through the strategic waterway — which is one of the most important oil routes in the world — has sharply declined in recent weeks amid Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the region..Roughly 20% of all the world’s oil supply moves through the narrow strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to world markets.Despite the instability, Iran has continued exporting oil through the strait, shipping an estimated 1.5 million barrels per day.Bessent said some tankers carrying fuel for India have already transited the strait, and U.S. officials believe some Chinese vessels have also departed the region.“We’ve seen Indian ships go out now. The Indians rely very heavily on Gulf oil,” he stated.“We believe some Chinese ships have gone out....We think that there will be a natural opening that the Iranians are letting out, and for now we’re fine with that. We want the world to be well supplied.”According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, a ship loaded with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arrived in the country on Sunday, and Indian officials are awaiting confirmation from Iran that 22 additional vessels carrying crude oil, LPG and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be allowed to pass through the Strait.The Treasury secretary added that tanker traffic could gradually recover even before the U.S. and its allies begin escorting commercial vessels through the strait..As of Monday, Brent crude was trading near $102 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude hovered around $94 a barrel at the time of writing.Bessent said he expects oil prices to fall significantly once the conflict ends.“They should go much lower than $80 per barrel after the war is over,” he said, adding that he could not predict when the fighting would end but believes global energy markets will stabilize once it does.The Treasury secretary also dismissed speculation that the US government might intervene directly in oil futures markets to control prices.“We haven’t done that,” Bessent told CNBC.At a White House press conference Monday, President Donald Trump said he expects oil prices and inflation to fall quickly once the conflict concludes.“I can tell you when this is over, oil prices are gonna go down very, very rapidly. So is inflation, so is everything else,” Trump said.“But frankly, much more important than short-term or even long-term oil prices, you can't let the most violent, vicious country in the last fifty years have a nuclear weapon because the Middle East will be gone."Trump added that Iran’s recent attacks on several Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, among others, surprised US officials.“[Iran] wasn't supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East,” Trump stated.“We were shocked.”

US permitting Iranian tankers through Strait of Hormuz to keep oil markets supplied

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