US Waives Iran Oil Sanctions for 60 Days After Switzerland Talks
The United States issued a 60-day waiver on oil sanctions against Iran on Monday following the first round of direct talks with Tehran in Switzerland, according to a joint statement by mediators Qatar and Pakistan that outlined a roadmap for a final deal within 60 days. Vice President JD Vance described the discussions in the Bürgenstock resort as having laid a “very good foundation” while tying the relief to Iranian commitments on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and allowing International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country. The Treasury Department license authorizes production, sale and delivery of Iranian crude and petrochemicals until Aug. 21 and even permits direct imports into the US for the first time in decades, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the emergency waiver dismantles central pillars of the long-running embargo in exchange for those commitments, a move that the New York Times said could provide Iran with an economic boon after years of discounted sales to evasive buyers. The initial memorandum of understanding also calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to details released by both countries in the AP News account of the agreement signed last week. Vance added that the teams had discussed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and establishing a de-confliction mechanism for the regional ceasefire.
Iran’s foreign ministry told state media that Tehran had made “no new commitments” on nuclear inspections, rejecting Vance’s assertion that discussions with the IAEA could begin as soon as Monday or that inspectors would return at a minimum this week. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said in an interview with the Iranian news agency IRNA that any engagement with UN inspectors will take place “under existing procedures set by Parliament and the Supreme National Security Council.” The IAEA pulled its remaining inspectors from Iran the month after Tehran suspended access to sites bombed by Israel and the US during last summer’s 12-day war, according to the BBC report on the latest developments.
The US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal during President Donald Trump’s first term in 2018 had ended the previous framework for IAEA inspections, a step that Reuters noted had heightened tensions leading into the recent conflict. A series of US sanctions imposed in 2025 targeted individuals and entities involved in Iranian oil sales and petrochemical shipments, according to the Wikipedia entry on United States sanctions against Iran that references Treasury actions. The latest waiver represents a major reversal, Al Jazeera reported, coming as technical discussions between the parties continue after the Iranian lead negotiators departed the Swiss talks on Monday.
Mediators from Qatar and Pakistan announced the creation of a communication line to avoid incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and a de-confliction cell involving the US, Iran and Lebanon to support ending military operations there. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described the situation in Lebanon as the first “real test” of the emerging understandings, with fighting between Israel and Hezbollah having abated since Saturday night under a fragile ceasefire that was holding. The New York Times noted that the sanctions relief arrives against a backdrop of strained regional supply chains and heightened geopolitical risks that have affected global energy markets.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that Iran “will agree to have Major Weapons Inspections” and later warned from the Oval Office, “If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do.” Vance told reporters that the Iranians had threatened to walk out of the talks on Sunday after one of Trump’s Truth Social posts warning the US could “hit Iran very hard again,” but that he had explained it as a response to Iranian “trash talk.” The suspension could allow Iran to increase oil exports and charge market prices rather than the discounts imposed by prior sanctions, according to the Al Jazeera analysis of the Treasury action.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control had issued alerts as recently as May 2026 on sanctions risks tied to Iranian demands for Strait of Hormuz passage and dealings with certain refineries, per the Treasury website documentation. Bloomberg reported that the waiver opens a rare window for US refiners to purchase Iranian crude after more than 35 years, though it remains unclear how many will pursue such transactions given the temporary nature of the relief. Iranian officials have maintained that the nuclear program serves civilian purposes only, a position reiterated in the wake of the Swiss negotiations, according to coverage in The Washington Post.
