The United States has revoked the 60-day waiver that had temporarily permitted Iran to sell its crude oil and petrochemical products on the international market, effective immediately. This decision comes in response to recent attacks on tankers, signaling a renewed hardline stance from the Trump administration against Tehran. The waiver, issued on June 23, 2026, had been a crucial part of ongoing, albeit fragile, peace talks between the US and Iran.
The waiver, known as General License X, had offered a significant economic lifeline to Iran, allowing it to export oil for the first time in nearly four decades and receive payments in US dollars. Analysts had estimated this move could unlock an estimated $8 billion to $9 billion from a floating inventory of about 67 million barrels of Iranian crude stranded in the Gulf, and further boost revenue from new sales. The temporary lifting of sanctions was a major reversal of US policy aimed at crippling Iran's economy and was meant to provide an incentive for continued diplomatic progress.
The revocation of the waiver will likely halt the expected ramp-up of Iranian oil purchases, particularly by Chinese state and independent refineries, who were anticipating a "storage top-off cycle." The immediate expiration means that the anticipated billions of dollars in revenue for Iran will be curtailed, and the ability for Iran to use these funds to purchase American agricultural goods, as President Trump had stated, will be severely impacted. The move re-establishes the economic pressure tactics that have long defined US-Iran relations.
