The United States will not renew a 30-day waiver for India and other countries to purchase Russian and Iranian oil amid the West Asia conflict. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday night that nations transacting with Tehran amid the war would now face secondary sanctions — warning that that the US was preparing the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign. The developments came mere hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a nearly 40-minute talk with President Donald Trump.

“We will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil and we will not be renewing the general license on Iranian oil. That was oil that was on the water prior to March 11. So all that has been used,” said Bessent at a press conference.

The United States had issued a waiver last month allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian energy resources that were already loaded onto tankers. Washington justified the “deliberately short-term measure” as necessary to stabilise oil prices amid its war against Iran. The waiver was issued on March 12 and expired over the weekend.

A similar 30-day waiver was also issued for Iranian oil at sea on March 20 (set to expire on April 19). Bessent said last month that this had allowed some 140 million barrels to reach global markets in a bid to ‌relieve pressure on global energy supplies ​sparked by the ​war.

Secondary sanctions warning

Bessent has urged banks to “be on notice that Treasury will leverage all tools and authorities” against those continuing to “support” Iran. He said this included the possibility of secondary sanctions against entities that were hosting Iranian money. The warning comes the day after Treasury Department sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran.

“We have told companies, we have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure. And the Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities,” he said.

Modi-Trump talks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his American counterpart about the situation in the Middle East during a nearly 40 miniute call on Tuesday. The two leaders had also “stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure.” during the lengthy discussion. It came even as US envoy Sergio Gor said India and the US are expected to seal certain “big-ticket” deals soon, including in the energy sector.

“Received a call from my friend President Donald Trump. We reviewed the substantial progress achieved in our bilateral cooperation in various sectors. We are committed to further strengthening our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership in all areas. We also discussed the situation in West Asia and stressed the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure,” Modi said on social media.