LIVE UPDATES: US Temporarily Lifts Sanctions On Iranian Oil Loaded On Vessels

Doha, Qatar: The US temporarily lifted sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil loaded on vessels as of March 20, in a bid to curb the increase in energy prices resulting from the war in the Middle East. The suspension of sanctions would expire on Apr. 19.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent wrote on Twitter: "Today, the Department of the Treasury is issuing a narrowly tailored, short-term authorization permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea."

He added that the decision will bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets to ease pressure on energy supply caused by Iran.

11:55am Doha Time
Iran is providing safe passage to ships in the Strait of Hormuz: Iran foreign minister

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi repeated previous statements that the Strait of Hormuz is open, provided countries liaise with Tehran.

“We have not closed this strait. In our opinion, this strait is open. It is closed only for ships belonging to our enemies, countries that attack us. For other countries, ships can pass through the strait,” he said in an interview with Japan's Kyodo News on Friday.

“We are ready to provide them with safe passage in case of contact... All they need to do is contact us to discuss how this route will be,” Araghchi said, according to a transcript of the interview shared on his Telegram account.

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