OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) General License U expires on 19 April with no Treasury renewal signal issued. GL-U was the first broad US authorisation of Iranian-origin crude since sanctions began. Its expiry was built into the instrument; the question is whether the ceasefire creates political pressure for renewal. Treasury's silence so far is ambiguous: it may reflect deliberate leverage (renewable on demand) or indifference (the ceasefire will collapse before it matters).
GL-U lapses on 19 April; ceasefire ends 22 April. Tanker operators face a three-day window of legal exposure where the cargo is recriminalised but the political situation remains in flux. The 325 tankers stranded inside the Gulf would face simultaneous maritime and sanctions legal jeopardy. Insurers will not cover that exposure without formal renewal.
Renewal would signal US flexibility on sanctions and support the ceasefire's economic architecture. Non-renewal would force tanker operators to choose between legal exposure and abandoning cargo, three days before the political deadline that was supposed to resolve everything.
