Workers on a tugboat guide the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin as it arrives at the oil terminal in the port of Matanzas, northwestern Cuba, on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
Washington will not extend sanctions waivers allowing countries to purchase Russian and Iranian energy, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Wednesday. India was a key beneficiary of the sanctions waivers, which attracted significant criticism by US politicians for enriching loosening financial pressure on Moscow and Tehran.
“We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11. So all that has been used,” said Bessent at a press conference.