How the US naval blockade has bled Iran of nearly $6bn in oil revenues

Iran’s crude oil exports fell to their lowest level in at least six years in May, as a United States naval blockade squeezes Tehran’s most important source of income amid a fragile ceasefire between the two nations.

The blockade on Iran’s ports, which Washington commenced on April 13, is part of President Donald Trump’s effort to pressure Iran to agree to its terms for a peace deal. Tehran has condemned the move as illegal and described the US seizure of ships around its ports as an act of “piracy”.
The US action came after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to ships from most countries following the start of US-Israeli attacks on February 28. The narrow waterway is the Gulf’s main route to the open ocean and normally carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
The disruption sent global energy prices soaring and severely curtailed exports from chief Gulf producers, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.

During that period, however, Iran was largely able to continue exporting its own oil. With fewer competitors able to move cargoes through the strait, Iranian exports remained strong through March and some of April, while higher oil prices boosted revenues.

New data now shows that has changed since the US began its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz account for about 80 percent of total Iranian exports. The latest shipping data suggests the blockade has sharply reduced the amount of crude Iran can sell abroad, particularly to China, its largest customer.