US President Donald Trump is pressed to explain his decision to waive sanctions on Iranian oil after he criticized previous presidents for offering similar relief to Tehran.
“I just want to have as much oil in the system as possible, and we don’t even know if Iran gets that money,” Trump says of what is expected to amount to $14 billion entering Iran’s coffers.
“You have ships that are out there loaded up with oil. Rather than keep them there, I would rather see [the oil] go to the system,” Trump continues. “Any small amount of money that Iran gets is not going to have any difference in this war, but I want to have the system be lubricated.”
“The price of oil will drop like a rock as soon as a deal is done,” he adds, noting that prices have already dropped since he announced the purportedly productive negotiations earlier today.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 23, 2026
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