US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday (Mar 5) announced a 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil as energy supplies are hit amid the war in West Asia. The temporary measure will enable oil to keep flowing into the global market as the war between the US-Israel and Iran spreads across the region, disrupting global oil supply.
“President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded,” Bessent said in a statement on X.
The treasury secretary added that the short-term move is unlikely to deliver major financial gains to the Russian government, as it only permits transactions related to oil cargoes that are already stranded at sea.
“To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent added.
Bessent affirmed India as an “essential partner” of the United States, noting that US President Donald Trump’s administration “fully anticipates” that New Delhi will ramp up its oil purchases from the US.
“This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” he said.
Trending Stories
Earlier, the Trump administration had pushed India to stop purchasing Russian oil, saying that by doing so, New Delhi is funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine. However, the US and Israeli military operations in Iran have struck the global supply of oil from West Asia, as the conflict widens across the region.
This comes after the US and Israeli military launched strikes on Iran on Saturday (Feb 28), killing Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and several other top Iranian officials. The operation was named ‘Epic Fury’ by the US and ‘Lion’s Roar’ by Israel. The attacks came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran and ongoing talks over Iran’s nuclear program. In retaliation, Iran launched attacks on Israel and US military bases in the region, including in Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.

&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)