West Asia conflict: US allows India to purchase Russian oil without sanctions, here's why

US Israel Iran war latest: In an unexpected shift, Washington has announced a new 30-day general license allowing countries worldwide, including India, to purchase Russian oil without facing US sanctions. This decision comes only two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared that the US would not renew two previous 30-day licenses from March, which permitted the purchase of sanctioned Russian and Iranian energy.

The US Treasury's order, released late on Friday local time, stated that a new general license would replace the earlier one, allowing energy purchases from Russia. However, the purchase of Iranian energy will no longer be permitted. The new waiver terms allow the purchase of Russian crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels on or before April 17, authorised until just after midnight Eastern Standard Time on May 16.

Despite numerous reports of officials from Asian countries, including India, urging Washington to extend the sanctions waivers initially issued in March, the US Treasury’s decision came as a surprise. Key officials told Hindustan Times that they anticipated an extension of the waivers due to the need to reduce global energy prices, which soared following the US-Iran conflict in late February.

India was a significant beneficiary of the sanctions waivers, with reports indicating that the country ordered approximately 30 million barrels of oil from Russia after the waiver was implemented. Indian refiners, such as Reliance, had previously reduced their purchases from Russian suppliers like Rosneft and Lukoil due to US sanctions against these energy companies.

However, Treasury Secretary Bessent's remarks on Wednesday clearly indicated that Washington was not planning to extend the sanctions waivers. “We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11. So all that has been used,” Bessent stated at a White House press conference.

Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, responded to Bessent’s earlier statement, saying, “As far as energy sourcing is concerned, we have told you on several occasions what our policy is. It is based on meeting the requirements of our 1.4 billion people as also the market conditions and the global situation that is available. That continues to be our policy as far as energy sourcing is concerned. There has been no change.” New Delhi has not yet reacted to the apparent reversal in Washington’s policy.

The reversal in Washington’s stance comes amid significant political opposition to the Trump administration's decision to waive sanctions on Russian and Iranian energy sales.

US Senator Richard Blumenthal expressed his disapproval on X, stating, “No way the Russia sanctions waiver should be extended. Trump’s waiver has handed Russia an extra $150 billion a day to fuel its murderous war machine killing & kidnapping Ukrainian kids—while it aids Iran with intelligence to target our troops.”

Congressmen Gregory Meeks and William Keating introduced a bill in the House of Representatives aimed at terminating the Russian sanctions waiver and cutting off Moscow's energy revenues.

“The Trump Administration’s war of choice in the Middle East has caused prices at the gas pump for everyday Americans to skyrocket. To offset this reckless decision, Trump issued licenses that gave Putin a free pass to take advantage of the global rise in energy costs and fill Russia's coffers for its illegal war against Ukraine — all while Russia helped Iran target and kill American service members in the Middle East. We’re introducing this bill to end the existing licenses, prevent them from being issued in the future, and starve Russia of the oil revenues it so desperately needs,” the legislators stated.