The United States has abruptly revoked its sanctions waiver on Iranian crude oil following an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Sunday that it was revoking the 60-day temporary general license, issued on the 21st of last month, that had permitted the production, delivery, and sale of Iranian crude. OFAC explained that transactions in Iranian crude would be wound down in phases and allowed only until the 17th. The move amounts to a hard line taken after follow-up negotiations stalled following the entry into force of a ceasefire memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the US and Iran on the 18th of last month.
OFAC's latest measure is seen as a response to the recent attacks on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. US online outlet Axios reported that Iranian forces fired at least two missiles at a merchant ship passing through the strait that day. According to US sources, both vessels sustained significant damage, but there were no casualties. According to the Qatari government and the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a total of three vessels — one Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier and two tankers — came under attack near the Strait of Hormuz beginning the previous day.
The US and Iran also engaged in two days of armed clashes late last month over an Iranian tanker attack in the Strait of Hormuz. Following the tanker attack, the US launched airstrikes on Iranian military facilities, and Iran attacked US military bases in neighboring Gulf states.
