Iran's oil exports hit their highest level in six years despite Western efforts to negotiate an increase in economic sanctions on Tehran after last Saturday's attack on Israel, an estimated $35 billion annual contribution to the Iranian economy.
Tehran sold an average of 1.56 million barrels per day in the first three months of this year, most of which went to China, the highest level of its oil sales since the third quarter of 2018, according to Vortexa data.
The newspaper said,Financial TimesThe British newspaper said Iran's success in exporting oil at this pace highlights the difficulties the United States and the European Union face in increasing pressure on Tehran after its attacks on Israel with missiles and demonstrations.
Fernando Ferreira, director of geopolitical risk at Rapidan Energy Group, said the Iranians have mastered the art of evading sanctions, adding that if US President Joe Biden's administration wants to make an impact, it must shift the pressure to China.
Washington and the European Union are preparing new sanctions on Iran in an attempt to discourage Israel from escalating the conflict with Tehran by retaliating against the missile attack.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged this week that Iran “clearly” exports its oil and that more needs to be done to curb that trade.
But analysts say Washington is reluctant to impose a maximum-pressure policy to implement sanctions announced by then-US President Donald Trump in 2018 because of Joe Biden's reluctance to pursue measures to choke off oil supplies in an election year.
China… a major buyer
In Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim agency said on Wednesday that the country's oil industry has found ways to circumvent sanctions, saying the fact that China is a major buyer has shielded Tehran from the impact of Western sanctions.
According to Kpler, which monitors the movement of tankers around the world, all Iranian oil sold this year went to China, and the imposition of severe sanctions on Iran would disrupt not only the oil market but relations between China and the United States. In the states.
China depends on Iran to secure 10% of its oil imports.
Israel shot down some 300 missiles and drones fired by Iran over the weekend, the first direct attack on Israel, intensifying fears that the region is sliding into a wider conflict as Israel considers how to respond.
Iran launched its attack in early April in response to Israel's targeting of its embassy in Damascus, which killed a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer and six of the 13 people killed in the attack.
Low oil prices
Regional tensions since the outbreak of war in Gaza have sent crude prices up more than 15% to around $90 a barrel, but prices have fallen again following the Iranian attack, while traders are betting that supplies from the region will not be disrupted. And Brent crude, the global standard, fell 3% to $87.37 a barrel on Wednesday.
Vortexa analyst and sanctions expert Armen Azassian said the U.S. has recently begun targeting oil tankers suspected of carrying Iranian crude oil individually after imposing sanctions on two tankers in February and April 13, but the impact on exports has been minimal.
Iranian Shadow Navy
Azassian said the Iranians are so adept at finding loopholes that they trick tracking devices into pretending these tankers are in one place, even if they are in another, making it difficult to track Iranian oil.
He pointed out that the size of the fleet Iran uses to transport its oil consists of about 253 tankers, and that the number of giant tankers carrying about 2 million barrels has doubled.
Iran's Oil Minister Javad Oski said last month that Iran's oil exports generated $35 billion in revenue last year, and on another occasion, while Iran's adversaries wanted it to stop exporting oil, saying, “Today, we export oil wherever we want. At a discount.” “Simple.”
Rising production of shale fuels over the past decade has made the United States the world's largest oil producer, giving Washington more freedom to impose sanctions on other types of crude.
On Wednesday, Washington reimposed sanctions on Venezuela, a member of the OPEC oil-producing group.
The US administration is also ready to use crude oil from its strategic reserves and has indicated it will do so again if global prices rise again.
Still, there is heavy Republican pressure on Biden to impose additional sanctions on Iranian oil, amid accusations that the administration is using laxity in imposing sanctions.
