Trump announces sanctions relief to ease oil prices, says Iran war to end 'very soon'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MarketWatch

Published: March 9, 2026 at 6:44 p.m. ET


President Donald Trump said the U.S. is waiving oil-related sanctions on certain countries in an effort to ease crude prices, as he estimated the war with Iran would end “very soon.” “So in some countries, we’re going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out,” Trump said in remarks to reporters in Doral, Fla.

The president spoke after U.S. stocks SPX +0.83% staged a comeback and oil prices CL.1 -7.05% BRN00 -9.27% retreated from highs as investors priced in the possibility of a coordinated emergency release of oil reserves.

Trump didn’t name countries on which his administration is mulling the reduction of sanctions. Earlier Monday, Reuters reported that the White House was weighing further easing of sanctions on Russia. The U.S. has allowed India to buy Russian oil without being penalized by the Trump administration. Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Trump predicted a “short-term excursion” in Iran but also suggested U.S. involvement there would continue. “We could go further, and we’re going to go further,” he said. Earlier Monday, Trump told a CBS reporter that the conflict with Iran could end soon, saying he thought the war was “very complete, pretty much.” He said Iran has no navy, communications or air force.

Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-announces-sanctions-relief-to-ease-oil-prices-says-iran-war-to-end-very-soon-ab0ee595

---

On this original "list" was Russia.

[Skittles]

1. "very complete, pretty much"

reminds me of this clip from Clue

[Chasstev365]

2. Yes, master Putin....

[Ray Bruns]

3. Might as well have asked a chimpanzee for its opinion.

[Harker]

4. In two weeks?

[sakabatou]

12. I have a meme for this....

[IronLionZion]

5. Of course he'll go with whatever is best for Russia first

He's willing to sacrifice plenty of Americans and Iranians and our allies in nearby countries so Russia can make some sweet profits.

[riversedge]

6. Did Trump ask Bibi???

[Crowman2009]

7. Just in time for TACO Tuesday?

Putin must be letting Bibi know that Trumpy is his bitch.

[Crowman2009]

8. Hopefully the abrupt TACO halt to this war will break Graham Cracker's heart.

And hopefully Pastor Hagis will have a massive coronary as well.

[C_U_L8R]

9. Putin targets our troops and...

TACO.

[Cheezoholic]

10. He thinks the Strait of Hormuz is like the Panama canal and he's gonna put troops there to "guard" it. Just watch

He just created a new Osama with this "war". He has no credibility with the Iranian opposition or people who want out from under the ruthless clerics rule because it's neighbors will NOT ALLOW A DEMOCRACY in the region and Iran's neighbors are ALL FILTHY RICH MONARCHIES WHO USE RUTHLESS CLERICS TO RULE!

[cstanleytech]

11. This was planned so Russia could start selling more oil to fund it's illegal invasion into Ukraine.

[everyonematters]

13. This is crazy.

If the war against Iran is worthy, than the sacrifice of higher gas prices is worthy. This is like lifting the oil embargo on the Japanese after they bombed Pearl Harbor to make it easier to take on Hitler.

[RussBLib]

14. Very soon? Might want to talk to Bibi very soon

I don’t think Israel is ready to walk away.

https://russblib.blogspot.com/?m=1

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. MaddowBlog-Trump gives Putin's Russia a pass on assisting Iran during U.S. war

Last edited Tue Mar 17, 2026, 06:32 PM - Edit history (1)

The president has publicly excused an adversary for helping a different adversary target U.S. troops and assets during the war.

Trump knows he’s been accused of being Putin’s puppet for years. He has an incentive to show he hasn’t been compromised by the Kremlin.

But as Moscow helps Iran target Americans, Trump is giving Russia a pass anyway, reinforcing his critics’ worst fears. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-03-16T17:16:39.187Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-gives-putins-russia-a-pass-on-assisting-iran-during-the-u-s-war

It’s been about nine days since multiple news organizations, including MS NOW, reported that Russia provided Iran with information that could help it strike American targets. One U.S. official told MS NOW point-blank, “Russia is providing intelligence help to Iran.”....

The question is less about whether Russia has assisted Iran and more about what Donald Trump intends to do about it.

The initial reaction from the American president and his team was to express total indifference, despite the severity of the allegations. This was soon followed by news out of the White House that the Republican administration agreed effectively to reward Vladimir Putin’s regime by temporarily easing oil sanctions on the country — twice.....

But in case this weren’t quite ridiculous enough, Trump has continued to find new ways to make the problem worse. In his latest interview with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, for example, the president conceded that he believes Russia “might be” assisting Iran, but said Putin’s regime deserves a pass because the United States has assisted Ukraine.

KILMEADE: You think Putin is helping Iran?

TRUMP: I think he might be helping them a little bit, yeah, & he probably thinks we're helping Ukraine, right?

K: You are, right?

T: Yeah, we're helping them also, & so he says that, & China would say the same thing. It's like, hey, they do it & we do it

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-13T15:16:10.560Z

.....Just so we’re clear, the incumbent American president, during a war, is both echoing Putin’s talking points for him and excusing an adversary for helping a different adversary target American troops and assets.

If there’s a precedent for anything like this, I’m not aware of it. Trump is no doubt aware of concerns that he has been compromised by Moscow, and he’s not exactly going out of his way to temper those fears.

As for the White House’s decision to offer Russia sanctions relief while it helps Iran target Americans, the move hasn’t just drawn criticisms from Capitol Hill, including from Democrats and some Republicans, but it also has generated pushback from some of the same countries in the region that Trump has “demanded” help from.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Putin “can barely conceal a smirk” as the war in Iran continues. There’s little question as to why.