U.S. Allows Iran to Sell Crude Oil for 60 Days, Including Dollar Payments

[New York = Lee Byung-chul, Financial News] The United States has made a major shift in its sanctions policy toward Iran by allowing the country to sell crude oil normally for the first time in more than 20 years. Iran will be able to legally export crude oil and receive payments in US dollars for the next 60 days, giving its economy some breathing room. However, the United States and Iran have presented sharply different views on the scope of IAEA nuclear inspections and the use of frozen assets, raising expectations of significant friction before any final nuclear deal is reached.
■Oil sanctions eased for the first time in 20 years
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X on the 22nd, local time, that "as part of productive talks in Switzerland, Iran agreed to accept free and open passage through the Strait of Hormuz and the return of IAEA inspection teams." He added, "The Treasury Department has issued a 60-day temporary general license allowing the production, delivery, and sale of Iranian crude oil."
The biggest change under this measure is that Iranian crude oil can now be traded normally in US dollars on international markets, including in the United States. Until now, Iran had been blocked from dollar payments by U.S. financial sanctions and had instead relied on so-called shadow fleets made up of aging tankers and disguised vessels, mainly through China, to route its oil exports indirectly.
The U.S. Treasury said the sanctions waiver will allow Iran to receive crude oil payments directly in US dollars and repatriate sales proceeds through overseas banks. This is a broader step than the temporary sanctions waiver announced in March. At that time, only oil sales already at sea were allowed, and dollar transactions remained prohibited.
The measure goes beyond oil trade alone. Miaad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former senior U.S. Treasury sanctions official, said, "This waiver also includes relief from terrorism-related sanctions that had been applied to some institutions, including Iran’s central bank." He added that it was "a move that fundamentally shakes up the U.S. sanctions framework against Iran that has been in place for more than 20 years."
■Frozen funds also remain a point of contention
However, the two sides interpreted the follow-up steps after the talks very differently. On the issue of how to use frozen overseas assets, the United States said the released funds should be used to buy American agricultural products.
President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House after signing an executive order that "one of the measures we are pursuing is to use the unfrozen funds for food purchases." He added, "This food will be bought entirely from American farmers." Trump continued, "Iran will buy everything it needs, including corn and soybeans, from American farmers," stressing that "American farmers are very happy."
Iran, however, rejected that explanation and drew a clear line. Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said, "There is no obligation in the current agreement to buy American agricultural products." He added, "The frozen funds do not have to be used only for essential goods, and they can also be used to purchase other non-sanctioned items."
During the ceasefire negotiations with the United States, Iran had asked for $12 billion in frozen overseas assets to be released first. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, also said on X that "sanctions on exports of Iranian crude oil and petrochemical products have been waived, some frozen funds have been released, and Iran’s reconstruction and development projects will also move ahead in earnest."
■Clash over IAEA inspections
The two sides also clearly differed over the return of IAEA inspection teams to Iran. The United States presented the return of IAEA inspectors as a key achievement of the talks, but Iran flatly rejected that claim, saying, "There was no new commitment." While the United States said the nuclear talks had made progress, Iran downplayed the significance, saying it had only reaffirmed the existing scope of cooperation.
Earlier, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said after the Bürgenstock talks in Switzerland that "Iran has agreed to allow IAEA inspection teams to return to the country."
But Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said through the state-run IRNA news agency that "Iran is only cooperating with the IAEA in accordance with its obligations under the Nuclear Safeguards Agreement, parliamentary resolutions, and decisions by the Supreme National Security Council, and has made no new commitments." He explained that although parliament passed a law last year restricting cooperation with the IAEA, cooperation has never been completely suspended, and that inspections of operating nuclear facilities such as the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant are still possible on a case-by-case basis.
The United States views the normalization of IAEA inspections as the first step in verifying Iran’s nuclear program, but Iran maintains that there will be no additional measures beyond the existing Nuclear Safeguards Agreement. Although an "economic carrot" in the form of eased oil sanctions has been offered, differences remain over nuclear inspections and the use of frozen funds, suggesting that substantial friction will continue before any final nuclear agreement is reached.
pride@fnnews.com Reporter