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Iran Didn’t Get Any Crude Oil Past U.S. Blockade in May
80 Million Barrels Were Stranded Offshore, Nonprofit Reports
Key Takeaways:
- Iran’s oil exports were sharply curtailed in May as a U.S. Navy blockade prevented any crude shipments, leaving about 80 million barrels stranded offshore, a nonprofit reported.
- The blockade has undermined Iran’s sanctions‑evasion network, with exports plunging from 59 million barrels in February to minimal shipments of naphtha and LPG.
- U.S. Central Command said the operation has disabled six vessels and redirected 122, while dozens of tankers remain stalled near key Iranian export hubs.
Iran struggled to get energy exports past the U.S. Navy’s blockade last month, with around 80 million barrels of oil and petrochemicals stranded in waters behind the line, according to a U.S. nonprofit advisory group.
No Iranian crude exports passed through Washington’s blockade of the country in May, United Against Nuclear Iran said in a report viewed by Bloomberg News.
However, the Islamic Republic did manage to ship four cargoes of naphtha totaling 2 million barrels and smaller volumes of liquefied petroleum gas, it said. That compares with more than 59 million barrels of oil and fuel exports in February, before the war began.
UANI only counts vessels that have crossed the U.S. blockade line that runs from the easternmost point of Oman to the Iran-Pakistan border, rather than crossings of the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran’s inability to export oil underscores the effectiveness of American efforts. For years, Iran relied on a vast network of vessels deploying shadowy tactics to deliver its crude and oil products, mostly to China. But Washington’s maritime operation, which began on April 13, has so far disabled six commercial vessels and redirected 122, according to a US Central Command social-media post on June 2.
“Iran’s once robust sanctions-busting network has been reduced to a trickle of small, high-risk voyages while the bulk of its oil sits idle offshore,” UANI said in the report.
https://t.co/Cmg5rQH6st — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 2, 2026
Around 69 tankers of various sizes laden with about 80 million barrels of Iranian oil and petrochemicals are currently in the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman within the blockade line, the group said. Clusters of vessels have formed around Kharg Island, from where the Islamic Republic exports most of its crude, and off Chabahar, an Iranian port near the Pakistani border.
Iran exported around 30 million barrels of oil and fuel in April and about 36 million barrels in March, according to UANI.
