Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the United States (US) will not renew the waivers that allowed buying of Iranian and Russian oil without facing US sanctions, Reuters reported Wednesday.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the US would not renew a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea that scheduled to expire this week, and let a similar waiver on Russian oil sanctions expire over the weekend.
Bessent warned that the US is gearing up to ratchet economic pain on Iran by levying secondary sanctions on financial institutions that are engaged in business with the Middle Eastern nation.
How it affects India
India was a major beneficiary of the waivers put in place by the US, as they permitted New Delhi to continue to buy of Russian oil amid supply disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz.
The US-Israel war against Iran has resulted in the largest-ever disruption of energy supplies due to Iran’s interruption of traffic through the strait, which provides a passage for 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Amid a major disruption in oil supplies from West Asia since February 28, India’s rapid ramp-up of Russian oil imports significantly cushioned the supply hit throughout last month. India’s Russian oil imports in March reached historic peaks and a similar trend is expected in April as well, according to tanker data and industry insiders and experts.Mofre
Now, removal of waivers on sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil will remove the cushion of discounted Russian crude import which has been crucial in managing India’s import bill. India. This disruption in the supply chain will necessitate India to find alternate suppliers other than Russia or Iran, and can also push the domestic oil prices up and markets down south.
Again, if India continues to buy Russian or Iranian oil without waiver, it may expose Indian firms to financial penalties from the Washington.
India will also be exposed to increased pressure from the US to adhere to sanctions, thereby hampering its efforts to balance out economic interests with energy security.
What happened this week
As the US and Iran failed to reach any agreement after Islamabad talks earlier this week, Washington imposed a blockade at Iranian ports that its military said has completely halted trade going in and out of the country by sea.
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Meanwhile, the global markets turned optimistic Thursday over a probability of Iran allowing ships to transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices dropped in early trade as hopes of de-escalation US-Iran tensions cooled down concerns over ongoing supply disruptions. Brent crude futures slipped 44 cents, or 0.5%, to $94.49 a barrel at 0021 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 70 cents, or 0.8%, at $90.59 a barrel.
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