← Videos · Energy & Permitting

Secretary Chris Wright Discusses Iran Sanctions and Nuclear Program on Bloomberg

June 27, 2025 · U.S. Department of Energy · 0:07:31

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Bloomberg asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright for the official U.S. stance on the use and import of Iranian crude. Wright said the sanctions are still in place with no change, and that what President Trump had referred to was that if a large peace is made and sanctions come off, Iran can flourish, according to the interview. On volumes, Wright said Iran produces about 3.5 million barrels a day and exports about 1.5 million barrels a day, while the maximum pressure campaign of Trump’s first term tamped exports down to only 100,000 to 200,000 barrels a day — cutting off 90%, as he stated the figures.

Asked whether maximum pressure was still on the table or being walked away from, Wright said the goal now is a peace deal — peace in the Middle East with a focus on commerce, not conflict — so maximum pressure was not actively being discussed, though the situation remained dynamic, according to Wright.

On Iran’s foreign minister saying the IAEA director general would not be welcomed and inspectors might not get access, Wright said it was early, that Iran had just had most of its nuclear program entirely devastated by Israel and the United States and was humbled and shell-shocked, and that a final peace deal certainly has to include confidence in dismantlement of the Iranian nuclear program, as he stated it.

Why it matters

Wright’s Bloomberg interview quantifies the sanctions dial the administration controls — 1.5 million barrels a day of Iranian exports against a demonstrated floor near 100,000 — and states the verification condition attached to any peace deal.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: Wright’s stated Iranian export figures — about 1.5 million barrels a day currently versus 100,000–200,000 under first-term maximum pressure — are checkable claims flagged for the scoreboard editor.

Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Wright Joins Bloomberg’s Jon Ferro and Annmarie Hordern - June 27, 2025”, 2025-06-27 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-06-27). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.