The US on Tuesday revoked a licence that authorised the sale of Iranian oil under a deal with Tehran, the Treasury Department said, following recent Iranian strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is revoking Iran-related General License X,” which allowed the production, delivery and sale of Iranian oil, the department said in a statement.
The United States authorised Iranian oil sales on June 22 2026, temporarily easing decades-old sanctions as it pursued a final peace agreement with Tehran in exchange for commitments on enhanced nuclear inspections and the free passage of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Treasury Department issued a general license authorising the sale of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals through August 21.
However, on July 7, the United States revoked the general license, effectively ending the sanctions relief more than six weeks before its scheduled expiration. The Treasury Department provided a short wind-down period for existing transactions before the revocation took full effect.
During the roughly two weeks the license remained in effect, Iran exported an estimated 50 million barrels of crude, or about 1.66 million barrels per day.
Financial news broadcaster CNBC quoted a US official as saying: “As President (Donald) Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the MOU (memorandum of understanding) in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based.”
“Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behaviour,” the unnamed official reportedly said. “Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences.”
The move came after three commercial vessels were struck in recent days by Iranian missiles while transiting near the Strait of Hormuz, causing significant damage but no casualties.
The strait is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, carrying a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports from Gulf producers.
