US naval blockade sharply cuts the Islamic Republic's oil exports

The US naval blockade has severely restricted the Islamic Republic's oil exports, and dozens of tankers carrying Iranian oil are left stranded off Iran's southern coast and in Asian waters. United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), in a report published on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, said that since 12 July it has not identified a single tanker carrying the Islamic Republic's crude oil that has managed to leave the Gulf of Oman without being stopped by US forces.

According to the organisation, since the blockade of the Islamic Republic's ports was reimposed on 14 July, US forces have forced 138 merchant ships that intended to run the blockade to change course, disabled four ships and inspected two. Ten tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have also been destroyed. In this period only about nine small LPG and oil tankers have passed the blockade line.

Stranded tankers from Kharg to Malaysia

The report says at least 52 tankers carrying the Islamic Republic's oil and petroleum products are stuck along Iran's coast. Since 14 July at least 47 oil and petrochemical loadings have been recorded, only eight of them at Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal. Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, had earlier said that no tanker has loaded at Kharg since August.

In Asian waters, too, the Islamic Republic's shadow fleet has been grounded: at least 20 empty Iranian tankers are idle in Sri Lankan waters, and about 45 shadow-fleet tankers are anchored at Malaysia's EOPL anchorage and to its north. According to the organisation, some of them have moved to anchorages near Hong Kong and mainland China after possible action by the Malaysian government, and ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian crude have been recorded in waters south of China. About 50 cargo ships linked to the Islamic Republic are also active in the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, some sailing under false flags or transmitting irregular position data.

25 billion dollars of oil halted

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in a video message on Friday, 16 October, that the United States has stopped at least 25 billion dollars of the Islamic Republic's oil exports and helped freeze about 350 million dollars in cryptocurrency belonging to it. He called the blockade impenetrable and said the Islamic Republic has no maritime trade apart from permitted humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic's attacks on commercial shipping continue. The International Maritime Organization has reported 114 maritime incidents against merchant ships since the start of the war and the deaths of 24 seafarers, and according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is about 70 per cent lower than before the war. Before the war, about 138 ships passed through the strait every day. The shortage of money in the Islamic Republic had earlier led to delays in paying the salaries of IRGC forces.

Since 12 July, no tanker carrying the Islamic Republic's crude has been able to get through the US blockade in the Gulf of Oman.