Washington DC - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that US might "unsanction" Iranian oil that is already being shipped as energy prices soar due to the war started by President Donald Trump.

Bessent's astonishing comments to Fox Business came as oil and gas prices made a renewed surge after Israel's attack on an Iranian gas field caused it to retaliate against world's biggest liquefied natural gas facility in Qatar.

Bessent added in the interview that the Trump administration could also release more oil from its strategic reserves.

The US has been scrambling to rein in rocketing energy costs after it launched its war on Iran on February 28 together with Israel.

Tehran's retaliation brought commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a virtual halt, snarling energy supply chains and exposing lack of planning or foresight on the part of Trump's administration.

Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the critical waterway during peacetime.

Already, international benchmark Brent surged 10 percent earlier before easing to a 5% increase at $112.76 per barrel.

Recently, the US also temporarily allowed the sale of sanctioned Russian oil that is at sea. On Wednesday, Trump temporarily waived a century-old maritime shipping law in an attempt to help ease energy prices.