Trump eases Russian oil sanctions as Iran war sends prices spiking

NBC ^ | 03/13/2026 | Alexander Smith

[thegagline]

The United States has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil, a boost to the Kremlin as Washington tries to contain energy prices sent soaring by the American-Israeli assault on Iran.

President Vladimir Putin’s team welcomed the move to ease penalties that were imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and pushed Friday for the U.S. to go further. The decision caused dismay in Europe, where officials feared it would give a timely boost to the Moscow war machine on their doorstep as attention shifts to the Middle East.

The announcement failed to immediately calm oil prices, which have spiraled since Tehran effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint and began attacking energy facilities across neighboring Gulf countries.

The international benchmark of Brent crude rose again overnight, sitting just above $100 a barrel as of 6 a.m. ET. Markets worldwide slipped, with U.S. stock futures down following slumps across Asia and Europe.

Announcing the move Thursday evening, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that until April 11 countries would be able to buy Russian oil that was already at sea.

He called it a “narrowly tailored, short-term measure” and claimed it would “not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.” (However, he later told NBC News’ British partner Sky News that it was “an inevitability” and “unfortunate” when asked if Moscow would gain from the decision.) Today, there are around 124 million barrels of Russian oil being carried on ships around the world. The Strait of Hormuz blockade is preventing around 10 million barrels from entering the international market every day.

President Donald Trump, Bessent added in his statement, was “taking decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets and working to keep prices low.”

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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: anothergagthread; flipflop; flytokievandenlist; foreigners4bidenbux; letsyouandhimfight; oil; poootlerpanicin321; putinwinsagain; rabidrussophobes; russia; russiarussiarussia

[thegagline]

Operation Ephemeral Resolve

[Sacajaweau]

“Z” must be going crazy...that oil feeds the EU....so he really can’t say boo.

[V_TWIN]

If the price of gas being high for an extended period is what it takes I have no problem with it but unfortunately Americans have become an impatient spoiled lot expecting immediate results.

My pastor calls it the “microwave society”.

[Socon-Econ]

Why should this be narrow and short-term? Russia is not our enemy, although my hunch is that Bessent, just like Lyndsey Graham, thinks that it is.

[MotorCityBuck]

“ My pastor calls it the “microwave society.”

Perfect.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- " 'Z' must be going crazy...that oil feeds the EU....so he really can't say boo."

Given world reserves and production of hydrocarbons and a world filled with nations that require them, the notion that "sanctioning" is effective in the long term is naive.

But VERY GREEN. Sanction energy -- i.e. rationing -- is a green game as "believers" wage their war against reality. We have modernity with energy, and lots of it. Without it, we have.... "green."

Europe is getting a daily dose of reality which does not comport with the current elite policy.

Hydrocarbons feed us all. Period. ( A nice dose of nuclear, coal and hyrdo are nice too. )

[McGruff]

Putin could say thanks but no thanks. I got my own customers.

[SaxxonWoods]

“Americans have become an impatient spoiled lot...”

The whining here over temporarily paying more for gas has been pathetic. Civilians have forgotten that they are part of the war effort too.

[Wallace T.]

Loosening sanctions on Russian oil is a sound action on the part of President Trump. The overall strategy in the Iran war is not only to dislodge the regime of the mullahs but also to establish Western control over the Straits of Hormuz, from where most of China's oil and natural gas is produced. America's main rival in the world is Red China. The Communist regime has plenty of problems, such as an untested military, a declining population, and economic mismanagement due to poor state direction. (Communists cannot resist their impulse to command and control.) However, the United States has multiple problems as well: deindustrialization, severe moral decline, an education system worse than some Third World countries, and millions of unassimilated and unassimilable residents, many of whom are illegals. The Trump Administration is working on the first and fourth issues I listed. There is also the issue of three states on the West Coast, the Eastern Seaboard states north of North Carolina, and interior states like New Mexico and Illinois that are controlled by the Democratic Party, which is now effectively a communist party. China has no such level of internal subversion.

There is a convergence of interests between America and Israel. Israel obviously wants to defang Iran, which is the funding source for Muslim terrorist groups and is a potential rival if it developed a nuclear arsenal. The American interest is to weaken China, the principal rival. There is also the possibility of pulling Russia out of the BRICS alliance.

[ansel12]

Russia is our enemy, we budget, train, design and choose weapons and equipment, maintain massive nuclear forces, station our forces, and form our alliances to fight them as our number one or number two enemy.

[V_TWIN]

And of course the media is making a big deal out of it.....my local lib TV stations have now become unwatchable.

[Drew68]

unfortunately Americans have become an impatient spoiled lot expecting immediate results.

Americans have always voted with their wallets. Always will.

Great concern over the battlefield in Ukraine is a luxury belief that last up until the financial costs hit. As will the war in Iran.

[ConservativeMind]

The decision caused dismay in Europe, where officials feared it would give a timely boost to the Moscow war machine on their doorstep as attention shifts to the Middle East.

Screw the EU.

We are following what helps, where it is needed.

[Jeff Chandler]

OH NOES!!!

[Jeff Chandler]

[nathanbedford]

We are following what helps, where it is needed

Russia is the world's greatest threat to wipe us out with its massive nuclear arsenal. Ukraine is contending against that power.

Ukraine, no less than Israel, is where our help is needed. Instead, we have time and again eased the path for Vladimir Putin whose best friends include Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, and China, at the cost of Ukraine.

[Kazan]

Russian collusion! The biggest winner of this mess of a war is Russia.

[Uncle Miltie]

I fear the Persians aren’t up to throwing off the yoke of the IRGC.

So, we ought to starve the IRGC.

This means NO OIL REVENUE FOR IRAN.

This is simple to achieve, by interdicting tankers to or from Iran, or bombing the pumps to Kargh Island. Easy to do. Tough consequences.

Is the world willing to live without Iranian oil supply and the resulting higher prices for gas in order not to be nuked? Because with any possible cash, Iran will surely only race for nukes on Tel Aviv and New York.

Tough choice! I favor interdiction until complete surrender.

What say others?