The United States is now deeply invested in the removal of the architecture of sanctions that has handicapped the Iranian regime. As of this morning, Secretary Bessent commenced the unraveling with a 60-day license allowing Iran to engage in all aspects of the oil trade in dollars.
This move was in exchange for the apparent restoration of the status quo ante in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian regime last traded that good in the April 8 ceasefire agreement to which Iran adhered “more in the breach than the observance.” Having sold us that particular Persian rug a second time, one may infer that they must have the upper hand with the Trump administration. They nevertheless maintain the resources to shut down the Strait at will.
The U.S. Treasury just issued a new license, "General License X," that reopens Iran's oil (including petrochemicals) business to the world. Here's what it lets Iran do, and why each piece matters.
1/3 It lets Iran produce, ship, and sell its oil — not just unload what's already… https://t.co/okAUMLzob6
— Miad Maleki (@miadmaleki) June 22, 2026
More below.
For years the best sanctions and oil experts came up with ways to sanction Iran's oil industry in order to make sure Iran doesn't have the funds to finance its nuclear program, its missile program, and its terrorist proxies.
It was such an important job that took so much effort… https://t.co/xbia8ZOwJH— Nadav Pollak (@NadavPollak) June 22, 2026
It’s a new dawn for Tehran.
“We continue to make the world safer and more prosperous…”
*checks notes*
…by allowing the world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism to raise funds by selling their oil.
What a humiliation for the USA. pic.twitter.com/xIdx9FBN0k
— Andrew Fox (@Mr_Andrew_Fox) June 22, 2026
Vice President Vance went to Lake Lucerne to put a happy face on the negotiations he has spearheaded. He proclaims the belief that the Iranian regime may be turning a new page. Where have we heard that before?
In his public statements Vance has done his best to nail down what he must believe to be the crucial Tucker Carlson wing of the MAGA movement. I should think this performance won Carlson’s approval: “The Iranian foreign minister entered last and refused to shake hands. We didn’t need photographs to tell us who looked confident and who looked desperate, but these images made it easy for the world to draw its own conclusions.”
This was humiliation. No one in modern history has made America wait and beg for negotiations. This was the moment JD Vance should have returned to Washington. The Islamic regime did this on purpose. Trump, if you don't understand politics, you should at least understand… pic.twitter.com/NVWAxr8NMH
— Amjad Taha أمجد طه (@amjadt25) June 21, 2026
Are we cooperating with Iran’s objective of protecting Hezbollah? The “de-confliction mechanism” over which they are negotiating leaves Israel out while Iran continues to orchestrate Hezbollah’s activities in Lebanon.
Our investment in the current arrangemet requires Vance to put a different kind of face on this aspect of the deal. He embraces the role of Israel’s disciplinarian, as Michael Goodwin observed yesterday in “Trump and Vance are rattled on Iran —and their attacks on Israel prove it” (“here is Vance acting as if Israel, our mighty and loyal ally, is a problem for the sin of defending itself against Hezbollah”).
Not to get too technical, but Iran’s commitment to IAEA inspections — cited by Bessent above — is meaningless at this point. Here is a question for students of ancient history: Under what agreement did Iran previously commit to IAEA inspections? No cheating!
It’s as if JD doesn’t know they have been there all along! Will they go to Pickaxe? Fordow? Natanz? Undeclared sites? Full accounting?
How long before access?
Anytime Anywhere?
Otherwise, meaningless.Tehran has played cat and mouse since 2002. It’s how we got to this point.… https://t.co/42aevWu9DT
— Josh Block (@JoshBlockDC) June 22, 2026
More to come.
