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The revocation cancels a license the department issued in June that had permitted Iran to produce sell and deliver crude oil along with related products through August 21 according to a Bloomberg report on the decision. A US official speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity described Iran’s actions in the strait as wholly unacceptable to the United States and said they would be met with consequences. The official added that the US-Iran memorandum of understanding was entirely performance-based with Tehran able to see benefits only if it demonstrated good behavior while noting that negotiators continued to work in good faith toward a final deal.
Bloomberg reported that the Office of Foreign Assets Control barred any new transactions for Iranian oil on or after July 7 in direct response to the tanker strikes. Oil prices rose more than 2 percent following the announcement as the incidents revived concerns over freedom of navigation in the waterway a key route for global energy supplies. The attacks ended more than a week of relative calm that had held after Iran lifted its blockade of the strait in the wake of a fragile ceasefire with the United States.
According to details shared with AFP maritime traffic had tentatively resumed in the strait after the memorandum was signed last month. Iran has insisted however that there will be no return to pre-war arrangements that allowed vessels to pass freely through the waterway. The 14-point memorandum requires Iran and Oman which share borders on the strait to hold talks with other Gulf states to define future administration and maritime services in the passage.
Security expert Andreas Krieg at King’s College London told AFP that the strikes constituted a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement and international law. He said Iran was sending a signal that no alternative to its toll or fee system would be accepted during what he described as a sensitive period in which potential substitutes were being explored. Krieg added that tankers attempting to use an Omani maritime corridor without registering with Iran would face punishment.
The US official told AFP that the memorandum remained tied to performance even as pressure increased on Tehran amid broader negotiations to end the Middle East conflict. A Bloomberg assessment citing the International Energy Agency indicated that the Iran war had contributed to the first projected annual drop in global gas demand since 2022 with supply disruptions rippling through energy markets. The agency has tracked how depleted stocks have heightened risks even as the world has absorbed historic losses in Iranian oil output.
Negotiations between the sides have continued despite the setback with the revocation serving as a direct consequence of the tanker incidents the Treasury Department statement confirmed. The developments come after the memorandum had initially allowed a temporary easing of restrictions as part of efforts to stabilize regional maritime activity following the ceasefire.
