US grants 30-day waiver for Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil amid Iran conflict

The United States Department of the Treasury has issued a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil amid the escalating conflict involving Iran, officials said.
Announcing the measure on March 5, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the waiver is intended to ensure stability in the global energy market while allowing oil already stranded at sea to reach buyers.
“President Donald Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Bessent said.
He described the step as a “deliberately short-term measure,” emphasising that it would not provide significant financial benefits to Russia since the authorisation only applies to oil shipments that were already loaded onto vessels.
Bessent also highlighted the strategic partnership between the United States and India, expressing the expectation that New Delhi would increase purchases of American energy products.
“This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” he said in a post on X.
Earlier, the Trump administration had imposed a 25 per cent punitive tariff on India for continuing to purchase Russian crude oil, arguing that such imports were helping finance Russia’s war against Ukraine.
However, the two countries recently announced a framework for an interim trade agreement, following which President Trump signed an executive order removing the tariffs after India committed to gradually reduce energy imports from Russia and increase purchases of US oil.
According to a statement from the Treasury Department, the waiver authorises transactions related to the sale, delivery or offloading of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian origin that had already been loaded onto vessels by March 5, 2026.
The authorisation will remain valid until April 4, 2026, provided the crude oil or petroleum products are delivered to ports in India and the buyer is an entity registered under Indian law.
The general licence clarified that the waiver does not permit any other transactions prohibited under existing executive orders, including those involving Iran or Iranian-origin goods and services restricted under US sanctions regulations.