US Treasury Issues 60-Day License for Iranian Oil Sales

The U.S. Treasury issued a temporary 60-day license authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil after Iran committed to open transit through the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday.

Iran also agreed to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into the country, Bessent said in a post on X. He linked the move to the continuing talks in Switzerland and called the license part of that framework.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License X, which authorizes transactions “ordinarily incident and necessary” to the production, sale, delivery or offloading of Iranian-origin crude oil, petrochemical products and petroleum products through 12:01 a.m. EDT on Aug. 21, according to the license.

The authorization covers transactions involving vessels blocked under U.S. sanctions, along with supporting services such as shipping, insurance, bunkering, piloting, flagging, classification and salvage, the document said.

It also permits the importation of Iranian-origin oil and products into the United States when that is incident to an authorized sale, delivery or offloading, and allows payments owed to Iran or blocked persons to be made in U.S. dollars.

The license does not authorize transactions involving people or entities in or organized under North Korea, Cuba, the covered regions of Ukraine or Crimea, or other dealings prohibited by U.S. law, according to the document.

The license was signed by Bradley T. Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Under President Trump and the vice president, we continue to make the world safer and more prosperous. — Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary

The license follows the conclusion of the first high-level session of the Lake Lucerne Summit in Bürgenstock, Switzerland. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said that session produced a roadmap toward a final deal within 60 days and new mechanisms covering Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz, according to their joint statement.

Iran’s foreign ministry said its delegation had returned to Tehran and that talks on a final agreement depend on the war-ending memorandum being implemented on a reciprocal basis.