Social media users are furious at Donald Trump for lifting Russia oil sanctions in the fallout from conflict with Iran.
Gas prices in the US have seen a 70 cents average influx from last month’s national average – and it’s expected to only go up as the war impacts Americans’ wallets.
Some say the temporary waiver is putting the US President in the pocket of Vladimir Putin, and others say it’s a ‘betrayal’ to Ukraine in its continued conflict with Russia. And a minister in the United Kingdom has rebuked the idea, saying the UK will not follow the lead in easing sanctions on Russian oil.
‘Aligning with the likes of Putin is not and never will be ‘America First,’ one social media user decried.
Trump’s Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department announced as of March 12, 2026 its authorization of delivery and sale of crude oil and petroleum products out of Russia.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this is only a ‘short-term measure’ lasting until April 11 to promote ‘stability in global energy markets’.
It comes as Iran and its proxies continue to stop the flow of oil tankers from several Middle Eastern countries from making it out of the bottleneck shipping zone at the Strait of Hormuz.
The activity in the Hormuz Strait has caused immense global market volatility in regards to oil and fuel prices.
Any prospects that the US Navy will help escort oil tankers and cargo ships out of the Strait causes a drop in oil barrel prices, but the more news that comes out of conflict in the region, the worse oil futures look.
President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department temporary lifted sanctions on Russian oil already at sea to help ease gas prices in the US amid the ongoing war with Iran
A Callisto oil tanker sits anchored in an Oman port amid Iran and its proxies holding the Strait of Hormuz and preventing ships from moving through the bottleneck
Even Energy Secretary Chris Wright tweeting and quickly deleting a post on Tuesday claiming that Navy escorted a ship caused a huge drop in prices. The White House later clarified that this was incorrect and the DOE said it was a staffer who made the mistake in the post.
‘That’s not a Strait we’re going to allow to remain contested with a lack of flow of commercial goods,’ Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at Friday morning’s press briefing.
Hegseth said that Iran continues to fire at ships trying to pass through the waterway that flows out of the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman.
The US pause on sanctions will go for one month and applies to oil already at sea as the Trump administration attempts to stymie the surge in gas prices in the US amid the raging war with Iran.
‘Russia’s sanctions lifted, sounds like a betrayal to the Ukrainian cause,’ one social media user bemused.
An economics professor posted to his X: ‘What a disgrace. Trump has removed sanctions on Russia’s oil. I am truly sorry to the Ukrainian people.’
‘How many Ukrainians die for this?’ another user questioned.
Trump and his administration have admitted that Operation Epic Fury would result in a temporary spike in gas prices, but has assured that those costs would ease once the conflict subsides. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during her press briefing on Tuesday that fuel prices could even dip below pre-Iran war rates.
The President has assured the timeline for the conflict is between four and six weeks and claims that the operation is already ‘way ahead of schedule.’
The announcement of paused sanctions was welcomed by the Kremlin, as it’s believed Russia has approximately 100 million barrels of oil currently in transit that will no longer face US sanctions.
Social media users claim the lifting of sanctions on Moscow’s crude oil and petroleum products is a ‘betrayal’ to Ukraine is its war with Russia
Smoke billows off a cargo vessel in the Gulf north of Dubai on March 13, 2026 as its left unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz
