In Big Policy Flip-Flop, Trump Orders 172 Mn Barrels Of Oil Release As Iran War Drives Prices Up

Last Updated:March 12, 2026, 11:00 IST

US President Donald Trump ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Wednesday.

In a 180° turnaround that caught US allies off guard, the Trump administration moved from opposing the largest-ever intervention in oil markets to urging its partners to proceed with the plan within just a few hours.

The development came after the US President Donald Trump ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil from the United States’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Wednesday. The decision came following the rising oil prices amid the United States war with Iran.

Reportedly, the releases will start next week and take about 120 days, Energy Secretary Christopher Wright said Wednesday in a statement, according to CBS News.

The move is part of a coordinated oil release led by the International Energy Agency, whose 32 member countries—most of them allies of the United States—announced earlier Wednesday that they would release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves.

With this, the tensions in the global oil market can be eased as Western governments and their allies were debating a major release of emergency oil reserves to calm prices.

Meanwhile, according to a report published in The Washington Post, Trump said that the war with Iran would be over soon, However, several European nations were questioning whether governments should intervene at all, US and European officials familiar with the discussion said.

Tensions In Global Oil Markets Ease

According to WSJ, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright gave his counterparts in the Group of Seven nations the White House’s position Tuesday morning: A massive intervention in oil markets was premature because the price of oil had recently dipped below $90 a barrel.

However, within just less than two hours, the US officials reversed their position and pushed their counterparts for a major release of oil, the report said.

The 180-degree turn was entirely due to a change of heart by President Trump, a senior administration official was quoted by WSJ.

Notably, the US President began the day by opposing the release of oil, but in just two hours, he changed his mind after advisers persuaded him that such a move was necessary to quell volatile oil prices.

“It is 100 percent incorrect that Secretary Wright advocated against a release at the IEA meeting Tuesday," an Energy Department spokesman said, adding, “In fact, quite the opposite, he rallied the member nations to support President Trump’s plan."

News world In Big Policy Flip-Flop, Trump Orders 172 Mn Barrels Of Oil Release As Iran War Drives Prices Up

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