U.S. Revokes Iran Oil Sanctions Waivers
Taylor Wilson
The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday revoked a temporary waiver allowing Iran to sell oil, responding directly to renewed Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz — the waiver lasted less than three weeks, signaling the core bargain of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding has effectively collapsed.
What just happened?
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) formally revoked the general license authorizing Iranian oil sales.
The license was part of a broader U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and had been in place for less than three weeks.
This means → Iran's freshly issued permission to sell oil has been pulled back before the ink dried.
Why revoke it now?
A U.S. official said the move was a direct response to Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours.
The official cited the administration's position: the memorandum is "entirely performance-based," and Iran "must demonstrate good behavior to receive benefits."
In plain terms = the logic is straightforward — you attack, we cut off your oil revenue.
Has the negotiation collapsed?
The same official said U.S. negotiators are still pursuing a final deal in good faith.
This means → Washington is running two separate tracks — revoking the waiver is punishment, but the negotiating table has not been flipped.
This reflects a classic carrot-and-stick approach: the oil waiver is the carrot, revocation is the stick, and both can operate simultaneously.
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