Bradley T. Smith
Director of OFAC; oversees US sanctions across Iran, Russia, terrorism, and WMD programmes.
Last refreshed: 26 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why does the OFAC Director hold such consequential discretion over energy markets?
Timeline for Bradley T. Smith
Signed GL 134C at 14:05 EDT on 18 May 2026
European Oil Markets: OFAC signs GL 134C, third Russia bridgeMentioned in: GL-U lapses on a cable-TV quote
Iran Conflict 2026- Who is the Director of OFAC?
- Bradley T. Smith has directed the Office of Foreign Assets Control since September 2023.Source: US Treasury
- What does the OFAC Director do?
- OFAC Directors oversee sanctions administration across Iran, Russia, terrorism, and WMD programmes, and sign general licences authorising specific transactions under each regime.Source: Lowdown
- Who signed General License 134B?
- Bradley T. Smith, OFAC Director, signed GL 134B on 17 April 2026, authorising Russian oil sales through 16 May whilst explicitly excluding Iran.Source: US Treasury
- Why did OFAC renew the Russian oil licence but not the Iranian one?
- OFAC renewed GL 134 for Russian oil with a 30-day extension, while allowing the Iranian equivalent (GL-U) to lapse without replacement on 19 April, signalling asymmetric US policy toward both regimes.Source: US Treasury / White House
Background
On 18 May 2026 at 14:05 EDT, Smith signed General License 134C, the third successive Russia bridge licence, authorising in-transit completions for Russian-origin crude loaded on or before 17 April 2026 through 12:01 a.m. EDT on 17 June 2026. GL 134C reinstated the full vessel-services umbrella (insurance, crewing, bunkering, piloting, classification, and salvage) that had lapsed with GL 134B and reversed the read from Update 1 of this topic that Treasury had ruled out a successor. Cuba, Iran, DPRK, and occupied Ukraine remain carved out under paragraph (b)(1). The same day's OFAC action added nine Cuban officials to the SDN list, with the Cienfuegos-based official making GL 134C's Cuba exclusion operationally significant for cargoes with any Cuban touchpoint.