Iran has moved at least 12 million barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, defying U.S. threats and prompting Washington to extend its naval blockade of the waterway. Six sanctioned supertankers transited into the Gulf of Oman over the past week, part of broader exports that reached roughly 50 million barrels in June and 10 million barrels in a single day last week, according to TankerTrackers.com.
The U.S. military resumed its maritime blockade on July 14, a day after revoking Iran's temporary export licenses. Tehran has assembled a shadow fleet of 23 vessels inside the strait, using false flags and disabled transponders. Two tankers carrying 1 million barrels changed their destination signal to Karachi, though Pakistan has not imported Iranian crude in at least a decade.
Washington announced enhanced sanctions targeting transport infrastructure, including roughly 50 individuals and entities linked to the network of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, whose father Ali Shamkhani and former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were killed in February during the Israeli-American offensive. Iran's economy faces 50% average inflation and food prices exceeding 100% over the past year.