U.S. Treasury allows sale of some Russian oil already loaded on vessels
The U.S. Treasury Department has authorized the delivery and sale of some Russian crude oil and petroleum products that were already loaded on vessels. The announcement came as reports continue over whether Russia has been assisting Iran during the war, which Moscow has denied.
The license, issued Thursday by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, authorizes transactions ordinarily necessary for the sale, delivery or offloading of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products loaded on vessels on or before 12:01 a.m. EDT on March 12.
The authorization runs through 12:01 a.m. EDT on April 11.
Treasury said the license also covers related activities needed to handle those shipments, including docking and anchoring, crew health and safety, emergency repairs, environmental mitigation and services such as vessel management, crewing, bunkering, insurance, classification and salvage.
The license does not authorize other prohibited transactions, including dealings involving Iran, the Iranian government or Iranian-origin goods or services except as specifically allowed under the authorization.
The action appears to create a temporary window for cargoes that were already at sea rather than opening the door to new Russian oil shipments beyond the March 12 cutoff.
The Treasury announcement follows a CNN report on Wednesday that Russia is helping Iran with advanced drone tactics drawn from its war in Ukraine, citing an intelligence official.
According to CNN, the assistance has helped Iran use Shahed drones to strike U.S. and Gulf nation targets in the Middle East.
That report came after comments earlier this week from U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who said Russian officials denied sharing intelligence with Iran.
CNBC reported that Witkoff said Russian leaders told President Donald Trump during a call on Monday that they were not sharing intelligence, and that Putin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov repeated the same in a separate call with Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
“So, you know, we can take them at their word,” Witkoff told CNBC. “Let’s hope that they’re not sharing.”
CNBC said Witkoff made the remarks when asked whether Russia was helping Iran identify U.S. military assets.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
