U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington may consider allowing Iranian oil already in transit to bypass sanctions, as global energy prices spike in the wake of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking to Fox Business, Bessent noted that the administration is weighing additional measures, including releasing more crude from America’s strategic reserves, to stabilize markets.

The surge in oil and gas prices followed Iran’s strike on Qatar’s massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility and threats to further disrupt regional energy infrastructure. The fallout from U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 has already brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, to a near standstill. Roughly 20 percent of global crude and LNG typically passes through the strait under normal conditions.

Benchmark Brent crude briefly jumped 10 percent before settling at a 5 percent gain, trading at $112.76 per barrel.

In recent days, the Trump administration has taken emergency steps to ease supply pressures, including temporarily permitting the sale of Russian oil shipments already at sea and waiving a century-old maritime shipping law to lower transport costs.