US Suspends Sanctions on Iranian Oil for 60 Days
The US Treasury has issued a license allowing banking and insurance for Iranian oil trade until August 21, marking the first step in fulfilling a commitment to lift all sanctions against Iran. Tehran, however, denies taking on any new obligations regarding its nuclear program.
The United States has suspended for 60 days sanctions that for decades prohibited trade in Iranian oil and petroleum products using dollars. The US Treasury issued a license that until August 21 permits banking services and insurance for the production, transportation and trade of Iranian oil and petrochemical products. This means Iran no longer needs its complex chain of intermediaries; oil can even be imported directly from Iran into the United States.
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding, signed on August 17, contains a US commitment to lift "all types" of sanctions against Iran. The US also pledged to secure the lifting of international sanctions. The Trump administration's move is the first step to fulfill that commitment. Paragraph 10 of the memorandum states that until final sanctions removal, the Treasury will issue temporary licenses.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran committed during the same 60 days not to block the Strait of Hormuz and to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. Vice President JD Vance told reporters that discussions on returning IAEA inspectors "could start today" and the process "will at least begin this week."
However, Iran's Foreign Ministry denied any new obligations, telling state agency IRNA that no new commitments were made in Sunday's talks with Vance. In the memorandum, all matters related to Iran's nuclear program are left for a final deal to be concluded. Interaction with IAEA inspectors will take place within the framework of existing procedures set by parliament and the Supreme National Security Council, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai.
The IAEA has not yet commented. Iran suspended access for inspectors to sites bombed by the US and Israel during a 12-day war last summer, after which all inspectors left the country.
