Bradley T. Smith

Bradley T. Smith is the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Treasury Department unit responsible for administering and enforcing sanctions across the US Government's Major programmes including Iran, Russia and Ukraine, global terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction proliferation. Smith is the final signatory authority for general licences and waivers that specify which transactions are permitted under each sanctions regime. On 17 April 2026, he signed General License 134B, renewing temporary authorisations for Russian crude oil and petroleum product sales while maintaining full exclusions for Iran. This signature underlines OFAC's asymmetric stance: Russian oil receives a 30-day renewal window, whilst Iran's equivalent licence lapses without replacement two days later, removing legal cover from approximately 325 tankers carrying roughly $31.5 billion of Iranian crude.

Smith rose through the ranks of Treasury's legal apparatus, holding senior positions in the Office of Legal Counsel and the International Section before his 2023 appointment to lead OFAC. He succeeded Andrea Gacki, who moved to higher-ranking posts within Treasury's financial intelligence operation. His tenure has coincided with heightened enforcement volatility: the rapid issuance and withdrawal of general licences signals both the administration's tactical flexibility and the precarity of sanctions relief for traders. The signature on GL 134B thus carries institutional weight beyond the regulatory text; it represents an explicit policy choice between Russia and Iran at a moment when both regimes face economic pressure.

Smith's authority extends to multiple sanctions regimes simultaneously: Russia and Ukraine sanctions (31 CFR parts 587, 589), Iranian sanctions (31 CFR parts 560, 561, 562), terrorism sanctions (31 CFR part 594), and weapons proliferation rules (31 CFR part 544). His decisions shape crude markets, financing patterns, and the secondary-sanction exposure of third-country refiners and buyers. The GL 134B signature exemplifies this leverage: a single official's determination to renew or let expire determines whether traders can legally purchase billions in energy commodities.