The United States is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC in an interview Monday.
“The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we’ve let that happen to supply the rest of the world,” Bessent told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan.
Tanker traffic through the Strait has plunged as Iran attacks commercial ships in the Persian Gulf. But the Islamic Republic has continued to export millions of barrels of oil through the narrow sea route despite the large U.S. Navy presence in the region. Iran exports about 1.5 million barrels per day.
The Trump administration believes tanker traffic through the Strait will increase before U.S. Navy and allied forces start escorting commercial ships, Bessent said. Tankers that supply India have transited the Strait, he said. The U.S. believes some Chinese ships are also making it out of the Gulf, he said.
“We think that there will be a natural opening that the Iranians are letting out, and for now we’re fine with that. We want the world to be well supplied,” Bessent said.
The Treasury secretary said oil prices should fall “much lower” than $80 per barrel after the war is over. Bessent said he does not know when the war will end, but “on the other side of this, the world will be safer and we will be better supplied.”
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