PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 24th, 2026: Trump’s Iran Oil Move Raises Big Questions & U.S. Strikes Militias in Iraq
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the 24th of March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the White House moves to release Iranian oil onto global markets. It's a decision that could send billions of dollars to the Iranian regime, the same regime that the U.S. is currently at war with. Confused? Well, I'll have the details, but you'll still be confused. Later in the show, as the fight with Iran intensifies, the U.S. is now battling on another front, launching strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We'll start things off today by taking a look at one of the more controversial and unusual, possibly surreal, efforts by the White House to ease the economic impact of the Iranian war and minimize political damage at home.
Specifically, the Trump administration is now facing growing pushback over a decision that's raising eyebrows across Washington, D.C., temporarily easing sanctions on Iranian oil, potentially unlocking up to $14 billion for Tehran, at a time when the U.S. is actively engaged in a conflict with the regime. We briefly covered this in an earlier PDB. The move allows millions of barrels of Iranian oil, currently sitting at sea, to be sold on global markets over the next month with the goal of increasing supply and bringing down rising energy prices. With oil hovering near $100 a barrel and gas prices climbing at the pump in the US, the White House is clearly looking for ways to stabilize the market and avoid voter displeasure.
But here's where things start to get a bit awkward. You'll recall that President Trump once criticized repeatedly former President Obama over sending far smaller payments to Iran in what was seen by many as a payment for the release of hostages. As an aside, the Obama administration at the time refuted that allegation that they had paid a ransom. But, well, when Iran handed over hostages and the Obama White House handed over pallets of fat stacks, it was hard to see it as anything other than a ransom payment. But now the Trump administration finds itself defending a move that could deliver a far larger financial boost to the Iranian regime, while U.S. forces and allies are, of course, actively engaged in a fight against them.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant tried to explain the strategy over the weekend, describing it as kind of an economic jujitsu, flooding the market with Iranian oil to drive prices down and, in theory, limit the regime's leverage. The concept, if limited to a theory on paper, might make sense. If the price of oil drops, Iran makes less money. But here in the real world, putting the currently in limbo at sea Iranian oil into the market won't significantly drive down the price of oil. Prices are rising because the Strait of Hormuz is essentially closed, and releasing Iranian oil does nothing to open the strait, nor does it ease the fears and concerns of the global markets given that the conflict continues.
Now, to be fair, a short-term infusion of cash, even 10 billion, give or take a few billion, won't rescue Iran's economy. Years of sanctions have taken a real toll, but that's not really the point. The issue isn't whether this move saves the Iranian regime, it's whether it makes sense to provide any financial relief at all to an adversary that you're currently bombing. And there's another problem here. Much of Iran's oil trade already operates in the shadows, moved through a so-called shadow fleet, often sold at a discount to China and a small group of countries willing to bust the existing sanctions.
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