The United States is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Monday.

“The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we’ve let that happen to supply the rest of the world,” Bessent said in an interview CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in Paris. The Treasury secretary is in France to hold trade talks with China. *** “We think that there will be a natural opening that the Iranians are letting out, and for now we’re fine with that. We want the world to be well supplied,” Bessent said. President Donald Trump is pressuring nations that rely on the Strait for oil to help the U.S. protect tankers from attacks by Iran.

The Strait, which connects the Gulf to the global market, is the most important trade route for oil in the world. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the narrow waterway before the war.

Oil prices have surged about 40% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran two weeks ago. The war has triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history as exports through the Strait have collapsed, according to the International Energy Agency.

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Brent oil prices the international benchmark, were hovering around $102 per barrel Monday. U.S. oil prices were trading around $95 per barrel.