Biden issues circular on Iranian oil
US President Joe Biden has issued a circular stating that there are sufficient supplies of oil and petroleum products in other countries to reduce purchases of Iranian petroleum products. US President Joe Biden has submitted a circular to the Departments of Treasury, Energy, and State on reports prepared pursuant to the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act to reduce purchases of Iranian petroleum products without affecting the global oil market. “By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States, taking into account reports to Congress by the Energy Information Administration, including those submitted in April 2023, global economic conditions, reserve storage levels, and other relevant factors, such as the availability of strategic reserves, I have determined that there are sufficient supplies of oil and petroleum products from countries outside Iran to allow foreign financial institutions to significantly reduce the volume of their purchases of Iranian oil and petroleum products pursuant to sections 1245(d)(4)(B) and (C) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.” The US leader emphasized that he will continue to follow the situation closely. The US has been trying to reduce the supply of Iranian oil products to the international market as much as possible as part of the measures taken against Iran since 2012. The US President issues a circular every year stating that the measures taken do not affect the global energy market and that there is sufficient supply of oil and oil products in the global market outside of Iran.