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[The Trump administration may suspend sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea in a bid to clamp down on energy prices that have shot up amid the war in the Middle East, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.]

#1

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by viper37 - Today at 04:22:32 PM

Oh JFC.  You can't invent this.  The Onion is gonna go bankrupt if they're getting ripped off like that.

Trump administration may unsanction some Iranian oil as energy prices spike, Bessent says

The Treasury secretary said the Trump administration has several "levers" to pull as war in the Middle East roils oil markets. 


The Trump administration may suspend sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea in a bid to clamp down on energy prices that have shot up amid the war in the Middle East, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.

It's the latest play weighed by the administration to stabilize the oil market against price shocks since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint operation in February. The maneuver could free up 140 million barrels of Iranian oil for global use, Bessent said.

"In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days, as we continue this campaign," he said on Fox Business.
[Note: LOL!  Genius move right there!]

It's one of several "levers" Bessent said the administration has at its disposal, as Iranian attacks cripple the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that carries roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply. The administration could also make more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve available, Bessent added. The administration already started making 172 million barrels from the SPR available.

"So we have lots of levers, we've got plenty more that we can do," Bessent said. "Some countries are going to do more, the U.S. could unilaterally do another SPR release to keep the price down."

The White House has discussed adding up to 100 million more barrels to the administration's pledge last week, said a person familiar with the plan who was granted anonymity to discuss conversations within the administration.

"Some military advisers are concerned [about] draining so much, and are pushing for more like 50 million barrels on the concern that further destruction of oil and gas infrastructure in the [Middle East] region could leave the country vulnerable from a reserve standpoint," this person said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Energy — which controls the SPR — said in a statement following Bessent's interview there were currently no plans for another release.

"The United States has taken several actions thus far to mitigate disruptions to energy markets," DOE spokesperson Ben Dietderich said. "While the U.S. continues to consider all options to keep markets supplied, there are currently no plans for an additional SPR release."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oil and product flows through the strait have plummeted from roughly 20 million barrels a day to just "a trickle," the International Energy Agency reported last week, marking the largest supply disruption in history. U.S. gas prices are up by more than 85 cents per gallon from the start of the war.

Bessent called the blockade a "temporary chokepoint" and implored American allies to help secure the strait.
"They're the ones who need this oil," he said. "The U.S., we're an oil exporter."

Trump, in the meantime, has skewered American allies, oscillating between calling for their assistance to insisting on Truth Social that "WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE."

"We are intervening in markets by creating this excess supply with oil that's on the water," Bessent said Thursday.

Add to this the 200$ billion that Hegseth is demanding for his war that is already won.  Things are going so well for the US right now.

#2

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by crazy canuck - Today at 03:45:16 PM

Isn't that what the whole "K-shaped recovery" conversation is about? People who are on the right side of the asset divide are doing good if not great. People who are not, are having a much harder time.

It's probably true that the people on the downward slide of the K are still better off than poor people in the 1930s or whenever, but if they're experiencing a decline over the last 10 years or so, especially if the story's been "a rising tide lifts all boats" then it's still going to sting.

What Valmy said, and in addition to that, I think those on the bottom of the upward trajectory of the K are also not only feeling but are actually less well off.  People with what would have been very good jobs and decent savings are having trouble making ends meet.  The cost of living was already too high in relation to income, and it's about to get much worse.

#3

Gaming HQ / Re: Victoria 3

Last post by Valmy - Today at 03:27:14 PM

Overcomplicating this game furtherly without giving a bunch of wargamers control of their armies seems like a poor idea, really.

Naval power never plays out in Paradox games. Probably because Sweden never was much of a naval power.

You know if Danes made these games sea power would always be decisive.

One of the things that I liked about Victoria was how focussed it was on internal politics and economics with diplomacy and military matters almost being minor annoyances. Focussing more on the military seems like a bad use of resources to me. But we shall see.

#4

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Valmy - Today at 03:25:18 PM

Is she going to protect herself from MenB?

So what is the deal with this? This seems to be a joke for online UK people and is there some irrational panic going on? Or is there an actual bad situation and this is just typically British gallows humor?

#5

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Valmy - Today at 03:23:37 PM

Isn't that what the whole "K-shaped recovery" conversation is about? People who are on the right side of the asset divide are doing good if not great. People who are not, are having a much harder time.

It's probably true that the people on the downward slide of the K are still better off than poor people in the 1930s or whenever, but if they're experiencing a decline over the last 10 years or so, especially if the story's been "a rising tide lifts all boats" then it's still going to sting.

The difference is that people in the 1930s weren't heavily leveraged in basically every aspect of their lives. Granted few of them even had access to credit.

#6

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Valmy - Today at 03:22:03 PM

That was such an amazingly stupid thing to say to a Japanese PM. Especially a right wing nationalist one.

He is going to make Japan become a Chinese ally isn't he?

#7

Off the Record / Re: The Off Topic Topic

Last post by Maladict - Today at 03:21:29 PM

That must be an AI generated map 

#8

Off the Record / Re: What does a TRUMP presiden...

Last post by Tonitrus - Today at 02:56:39 PM

Trump being an ass with world leaders, Part 1,478:

#9

Off the Record / Re: Iran War?

Last post by Jacob - Today at 02:48:37 PM

Isn't that what the whole "K-shaped recovery" conversation is about? People who are on the right side of the asset divide are doing good if not great. People who are not, are having a much harder time.

It's probably true that the people on the downward slide of the K are still better off than poor people in the 1930s or whenever, but if they're experiencing a decline over the last 10 years or so, especially if the story's been "a rising tide lifts all boats" then it's still going to sting.

#10

Gaming HQ / Re: Victoria 3

Last post by Syt - Today at 02:19:00 PM

I feel this might hit a balance between overcomplication and oversimplification. However, I just hope the AI can deal with it.