Despite US sanctions, Iranian crude exports have increased significantly this year, offsetting some of Riyadh and Moscow’s voluntary cut of 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd).
Pro-Hamas Iran has denied any involvement in the group’s attack on Israel. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday she had nothing yet to announce about whether the United States would impose new sanctions on Iran if evidence emerged that it was involved in the attack.
“This is something we are continuing to look at and use as information becomes available to tighten restrictions,” he said.
Tighter US sanctions on Tehran would threaten crude oil supplies and raise energy prices globally and domestically, something President Biden would want to avoid ahead of the 2024 election.
But RBC Capital Markets analyst Helima Croft said it would be “probably difficult” for the Biden administration to continue its “permissive sanctions regime,” which has allowed Iran’s oil production to reach pre-2018 levels.
