The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a temporary waiver of its sanctions against Iranian oil exports.
Under the waiver US blocks on transactions involving the production, sale, delivery, or offloading of crude oil, petrochemical products, or petroleum products of Iranian origin have been lifted until 12:01 EDT on August 21, OFAC said in a note on its website late on Monday.
Bunkering of vessels involved in these activities is also explicitly mentioned as permissible under the waiver.
“Transactions that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the production, sale, delivery, or offloading of such crude oil, petrochemical products, or petroleum products include transactions for the safe docking and anchoring of vessels carrying such crude oil, petrochemical products, or petroleum products; the preservation of the health or safety of the crew of any such vessel; emergency repairs or environmental mitigation or protection activities relating to any such vessel or to such crude oil, petrochemical products, or petroleum products held in storage; and services such as vessel management, crewing, bunkering, piloting, registration, flagging, insurance, classification, and salvage,” OFAC said.
The US and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding seeking to end the conflict between the two countries. The agreement includes a 60-day period in which more complex issues including Iran’s nuclear ambitions will need to be settled.