ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Friday that Washington is planning to lift sanctions on Iranian oil currently stranded at sea, a move that could allow the crude to reach Asian ports “within three or four days” as part of efforts to ease soaring global oil prices caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes and most vital oil transit chokepoints, with Iran have restricted tranist following the launching of a US-Israeli military offensive against the country in late February.

On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington in the coming days “may unsanction the Iranian oil that’s on the water,” following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a rise in oil prices.

Bessent said the US may use Iranian oil shipments to stabilize global prices, providing about 10 to 14 days of supply that would have otherwise gone to China.

“With unsanctioning, I mean, within days, within three or four days, that oil will start to arrive at ports. And of course, most refineries are near ports. So pretty quickly,” Wright told Fox Business on Friday.

Regarding Iranian oil already at sea, Wright said, “I think that most of that oil will be absorbed in the next 30 to 45 days,” noting that “we've got over 100 million barrels in crude tankers that's on its way or floating, waiting to unload in China.”

“But China has not been releasing strategic petroleum reserves, and they banned the exports of diesel and gasoline and jet fuel that they supply to their Asian neighbors. So this is a way to let those barrels flow into, you know, India or Vietnam or Indonesia,” he added.

Iran spends “almost all its oil and gas money on armaments, conventional armaments surrounding a nuclear program,” Wright said, stressing that the US military needs to “finish the job to defang Iran's ability.”

Since the start of the war, Iran has largely suspended shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes and its most vital oil transit chokepoint, with Iranian forces attacking several vessels attempting to cross it.

The development has led to a sudden rise in oil and diesel prices, with almost 20 million barrels of oil per day unable to make it safely past the waterway.

US President Donald Trump has strongly warned that he will target oil facilities if Tehran disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first public message, vowed that Tehran will continue attacking US military bases in the region if they are used to launch attacks against Iran, as well as doubling down on a commitment to blockade the strait to pressure Iranian foes.