The United States is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on 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 in a “Squawk Box” interview in Paris. The Treasury secretary is in France for trade talks with China.
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.