Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. does not plan to renew a waiver allowing the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products that are currently at sea. And, he said, a renewal of the one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is totally off the table.
“Not the Iranians,” Bessent said. “We have the blockade, and there’s no oil coming out.”
Bessent’s statements come as the world is on edge over the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, and global energy markets have been ensnarled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. originally issued a waiver for Russian oil sales and petroleum products in March with the intent of stabilizing global energy markets after crude oil prices surged above $100 per barrel.
Anna Maria College to close
A second Massachusetts liberal arts college this month has announced it will close, underscoring the mounting financial strain facing small, tuition-dependent schools.
Anna Maria College in Paxton said that it will shutter at the end of the semester after what officials described as an “exhaustive review” of its finances. The decision follows a similar announcement earlier this month from Hampshire College in Amherst.
“Like many small, tuition-dependent institutions, Anna Maria has faced structural challenges driven by declining enrollment and rising costs in the years following the pandemic,” the college said in a statement.
“The Board of Trustees reached this decision only after pursuing every realistic alternative. We are heartbroken,” Board Chair David Trainor said in a statement. “The legacy of the Sisters of Saint Anne, and of every faculty member and staff person who carried their spirit forward, will endure in every graduate this institution has ever produced.”