The Trump administration eased oil sanctions on both Russia and Iran in the same week, and the bipartisan backlash has been swift. Senator Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, said the Russia waiver "fuels Putin's war." Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, called the dual easing a move that "signals desperation." More than 80 senators had previously supported tightening sanctions on both countries. [1]

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the Iran waiver with a phrase that instantly traveled: "We are jiu-jitsuing the Iranians. We are using their own oil against them." The logic, as Bessent explained it, is that Iranian crude was already being sold to China regardless of sanctions, and the waiver allows it to flow to other buyers, increasing global supply and suppressing prices. [2]

Senator Jack Reed, the Rhode Island Democrat and ranking member on Armed Services, called the approach "reckless," citing Congressional Research Service estimates that the sanctions waiver could hand Iran up to $14 billion in additional revenue — while American forces are actively engaged in combat operations against Iranian targets. [3]

The strategic contradiction is difficult to paper over. The US is simultaneously bombing Iran's military infrastructure and easing the sanctions that constrain Iran's revenue. Bessent's jiu-jitsu metaphor assumes the opponent does not notice the hold. Congress noticed.

-- Hendrik Van Der Berg, Brussels