The United States announced on Wednesday that it would not renew the general licence that allowed limited transactions involving Russian and Iranian oil amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
"We will not be renewing the general licence on Russian oil, and we will not be renewing the general licence on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11, so all of that has been used," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a White House press conference.
In March, the US issued a 30-day sanctions waiver, permitting countries to buy Russian and Iranian oil despite the sanctions imposed over the Ukraine war. The waiver expired on April 11.
India was a key beneficiary of the sanctions waivers. Reports citing government officials suggest that New Delhi placed orders for roughly 30 million barrels of oil from Russia after the waiver went into effect.
In fact, after issuing the sanctions waiver, the US asked India to buy Russian oil to "tamp down" concerns over supply shortages and price spikes amid the ongoing West Asia conflict.
India's crude oil purchases from Russia more than tripled to 5.3 billion euros in March, as volumes doubled and rising oil prices pushed up the import bill.
"India was the second-highest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in March 2026, importing a total of EUR 5.8 billion of Russian hydrocarbons. Crude oil products constituted 91 per cent of India's purchases, totalling EUR 5.3 billion," the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a European think tank, reported.
However, with the licence set to lapse, Washington is now reverting to its stricter sanctions regime as part of its "maximum pressure" strategy against Tehran.
Earlier, the US Treasury Department signaled that it did not plan to extend the temporary sanctions relief granted for Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. This measure, introduced in March, was designed to address immediate supply concerns by permitting the sale and delivery of Iranian oil that had already been loaded onto ships.