President Donald Trump on Monday defended the Treasury Department‘s easing of sanctions against Iranian oil, saying he wants to have “as much oil in the system as possible.”
Trump was asked about the sanctions relief, which could possibly produce $14 billion in revenue for Iran, while boarding Air Force One in Florida on Monday.
“We don’t even know if Iran gets that money,” Trump said. “Frankly, I think it’s very hard for them to get it, but you have ships that are out there that load it up with oil.”
Rather than keep it there, I would rather see it go to the system,” the president said. “Any small amount of money that Iran gets is not going to have any difference in this war. But I want to have the system be lubricated.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the easing of sanctions on Iranian oil Friday, as oil supplies have been limited due to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Bessent described the order as a “narrowly tailored, short-term authorization” that permits the sale of Iranian oil already stranded at sea, and said it would bring 140 million barrels of oil to global markets.
The treasury secretary also argued that Iran would have “difficulty” accessing any money generated by the sales, and that the U.S. would “continue to maintain maximum pressure on Iran and its ability to access the international financial system.”
On Sunday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) criticized the Trump administration’s decision to ease sanctions against Iran’s oil, saying “every single day, this war makes less and less sense.
“We’re going to give Iran $14 billion to fund this war with the United States,” Murphy said during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker. “We’re going to give Russia billions of dollars to fund their war with Ukraine. We’re literally putting money into the pockets of the very nations that we are fighting right now. Like we’ve never seen this level of incompetence in war-making in this country’s history, and frankly, we’ve had a lot of incompetence in war-making.”
Trump expressed confidence over a possible deal to end the war in Iran, telling reporters that if he were a “betting man,” he’d bet on it.
“But again, I’m not guaranteeing anything,” he said.
The president said that if a deal were reached with Iran, it would include the ending of Iran’s nuclear capabilities and that the U.S. would go down and retrieve the country’s enriched uranium “ourselves.”
TRUMP SAYS OTHER COUNTRIES WILL HAVE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR STRAIT OF HORMUZ SECURITY
Earlier on Monday, Trump announced the U.S. would delay military strikes against Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, despite a previous 48-hour deadline for the country to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or risk U.S. strikes on Iran’s power plants.
The postponement of U.S. action came after “very good and productive conversations” with Iran, the president said in a Truth Social post.
