Published 03/13/2026 1:55 pm | Edited 03/13/2026 20:00
Donald Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil, announced this Thursday (12), appears as a tacit recognition that the strategy of simultaneous confrontation on multiple fronts is encountering physical and economic limits. By releasing oil from Moscow, Trump capitulates in a central area of his previous foreign policy, revealing the White House’s inability to sustain the war against Iran for a prolonged period without collapsing its own domestic economy.
The measure was made official through licenses from the US Treasury Department at a time of extreme volatility. A barrel of oil broke the US$100 barrier as a direct result of the attacks launched by the USA and Israel against Iran — an action that led to the consequent restriction of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world’s oil consumption flows.
Temporary relief and Treasury furloughs
The administrative maneuver allows the acquisition of Russian oil that is already in maritime transit, using as an example cargo destined for India that can now be redirected or processed without retaliation. The Treasury Department argues that the intention is to expand the global supply of fuel without providing immediate gains to Moscow, since Russian revenue occurs mainly through taxes on extraction, and not just on the final sale of the product already shipped.
On March 8 and 9, President Trump had already anticipated the intention on the far-right Truth Social network, stating that he intended to suspend “some sanctions related to oil to reduce prices” at the pump. What initially seemed like a generic statement was confirmed by official sources to Reuters and the The New York Times as a specific target for the Russian product, identified as the only immediate escape valve to mitigate energy inflation that threatens US internal political stability.
Read more: Iran demands conditions for the end of the war and defies imperialist siege
Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and internal inflation
The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran’s strategy in military escalation in the Middle East, forced an abrupt change of priorities in Washington. Foreign policy analysts point out that the move exposes the strategic vulnerability of the US: to maintain the offensive against Iran, the White House was forced to indirectly finance the economy of its main adversary in Eurasia.
Although secretaries of State and Treasury tried to classify the decision as a “short-lived measure” linked to the neutralization of the “Iranian threat”, the reality of the numbers imposed a retreat. The interruption of trade flow in the region made maintaining the total blockade of Russia unsustainable.
This flexibility represents a profound tactical reversal. The “maximum pressure” policy, which aimed to stifle Russian exports to drain resources from the war in Ukraine, was overrun by the need for economic survival. In the current scenario, energy security and the cost of living for North American voters have taken precedence over Moscow’s geopolitical isolation objectives, revealing fissures in Washington’s hegemony strategy.
Foreign policy reversal and focus on stability
The reaction of international markets to the measure was one of caution. The international press (CNN and Yahoo News) indicates that, despite the issuance of licenses, global prices remain under pressure. The market awaits evidence that the volume of Russian oil released will be sufficient to compensate for the vacuum left by the crisis in the Middle East. For the White House, the focus now is on containing the economic damage at home while trying to balance the diplomatic chessboard where options are increasingly limited between Tehran and Moscow.
Source: vermelho.org.br
