US to reimpose oil sanctions against Russia 'once Iran crisis is over,' Trump says
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U.S. President Donald Trump told NBC News on March 14 that oil sanctions temporarily lifted against Russia will "go back as soon as the crisis is over," as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran continues into its third week.
In a phone interview, Trump justified his administration's easing of Russian oil sanctions by pointing to global supply amid Iran's efforts to block oil tankers' passage in the Strait of Hormuz. "I want to have oil for the world. I want to have oil," Trump said.
The U.S. president's comments come just days after the U.S. Treasury Department issued a temporary license to allow countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea, in an effort to stabilize global energy prices as the war with Iran drives markets higher.
Trump did not say whether his administration would extend the license beyond its current expiry date of April 11 should the war carry on.
The temporary license follows a temporary waiver granted last week, allowing India to purchase Russian crude already loaded on tankers at sea to offset supply disruptions from the Middle East.
While easing sanctions would likely boost global energy supplies, critics say it risks undermining efforts to pressure Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which entered its fifth year in February.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that lifting sanctions would be a "serious blow" to Ukraine and a "reputational blow" for the world.
"How can sanctions be lifted from Russia if it is an aggressor?" Zelensky said during a briefing with journalists on March 10, stressing that sanctions are designed to prevent Moscow from funding its war on Ukraine.
While the easing of Russian sanctions has drawn criticism from a number of Western leaders, Trump sidestepped questions about the international reaction, instead laying blame on President Volodymyr Zelensky for not agreeing to a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I’m surprised that Zelensky doesn’t want to make a deal. Tell Zelensky to make a deal because Putin’s willing to make a deal," Trump told NBC News.
Russia has welcomed the move. The Kremlin's economic negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, commented that "Russian energy is indispensable to easing the world's largest energy crisis."
"EU bureaucrats will soon be forced to recognize this reality, acknowledge their strategic blunders, and atone," Dmitriev said on X.
Moscow has already begun reaping financial benefits from the war in Iran, earning an additional 6 billion euros ($6.9 billion) in two weeks of fighting, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
