Iran is exporting less than one-sixth of the oil it was shipping before the war began.
(Al Jazeera) – 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.
