The U.S. federal government is considering ways of squeezing Iranian oil exports amid heightened Middle East tension following Tehran's vow to avenge the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Politico reports that a spokesman for the State Department said in comments that the department was looking for ways to further limit Iran's revenues from oil exports, blaming the country for the escalation in the regional situation after Israel killed Hamas' Haniyeh in Tehran.
"As Iran continues to escalate tensions in the region, we will work with partners to further pressure Iran and reduce their oil exports," the official, whom Politico did not name, said.
"Sanctions evasion is very costly-paying middlemen, laundering money, and so on. We assess that the Iranian regime receives only a fraction of the revenue from its oil sales as a result," the official added, acknowledging, however, that despite the sanctions Iran was expanding its crude oil exports.
Indeed, earlier this year Iran's oil exports hit a six-year high, at an average of 1.56 million barrels daily over the first quarter of the year. "The Iranians have mastered the art of sanctions circumvention," Fernando Ferreira, head of geopolitical risk service at Rapidan Energy Group, told the FT in April. "If the Biden administration is really going to have an impact, it has to shift the focus to China."
China is Iran's largest oil customer but it is not the only one. Reuters reported earlier this month that cargo tracking data had shown Iranian oil cargoes moving to Oman and Bangladesh. Last month, Iran's Petroleum Minister Javad Owji claimed that Tehran is currently exporting its oil to as many as 17 countries.
Iran's crude oil production averaged 3.22 million barrels per day in July, the monthly Reuters survey found earlier this month. That level was the highest Iranian output tracked by Reuters surveys since 2018.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. More
Comments
Moreover, the US State Department has broken all records in the art of logic twisting when its spokesman said in comments "that the department was looking for ways to further limit Iran’s revenues from oil exports, blaming the country for the escalation in the regional situation after Israel killed Hamas’ Haniyeh in Tehran" when in fact it is Israel who is responsible for escalating tension after killing the Hamas political leader in Tehran.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Global Energy Expert