# Iranian oil sanctions relief, 2026

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Iranian oil sanctions relief, 2026," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iranian-oil-sanctions-relief-2026/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*The American decision, during the war it was fighting against Iran, to lift sanctions on Iranian oil at sea in order to hold prices down. John Kiriakou pairs it with the moment an Indian ship paid Iran for oil in yuan and was waved through — after which, he says, the sanctions came off.*

- **What happened:** The US moved to lift sanctions on Iranian oil at sea
- **Why:** Prices were rising during the war
- **The trigger:** An Indian ship paid for Iranian oil in yuan and was allowed to pass
- **The American objection:** Oil must be paid for in dollars
- **Iran's answer:** "Tough luck for you"

**Iranian oil sanctions relief, 2026** refers to the American move, during the [2026 Iran war](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/2026-iran-war), to lift sanctions on Iranian oil at sea. The sequence was put to [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) as an absurdity — that after years of sanctions the United States went to war against Iran and then had to un-sanction its oil because prices were rising — and he agreed there was something to it.[1]

What he added was the currency dimension. [Donald Trump](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/donald-trump) had been *"talking tough about, you know, we're going to have to just tighten our belts, we're going to have to just pay a little bit extra, we're going to have to be all in this together."*[1] Then an Indian ship paid for its cargo in yuan, and the Iranians told it that it was free to pass.[2]

The American objection, in Kiriakou's rendering, was existential rather than legal — *"wait a minute, the oil has to be paid for in dollars, otherwise it's going to crash our economy"* — and the Iranian reply was *"tough luck for you."* His account of what followed is one sentence: *"So then we lifted sanctions on Iranian oil."*[2]

The transit fees Iran charged shipping during the same period are treated at [Strait of Hormuz transit fees](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/strait-of-hormuz-transit-fees).

## See also

- [Strait of Hormuz transit fees](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/strait-of-hormuz-transit-fees)
- [Strait of Hormuz](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/strait-of-hormuz)
- [2026 Iran war economic shock](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/2026-iran-war-economic-shock)
- [Sanctions and the Russian adjustment](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/sanctions-and-the-russian-adjustment)

## Sources

1. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 02:09. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=129s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/
2. DeProgram Show with Ted Ra (2026-03-20), at 02:42. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=145C1-XphQs&t=162s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-03-20-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra-deprogram-show-with-ted-ra/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/iranian-oil-sanctions-relief-2026/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt