Overview
- Iran’s oil minister Mohsen Paknejad disclosed Saturday that Tehran earned $18 billion from oil sales split into $11.5 billion during active hostilities and $6.5 billion during the ceasefire.
- Reporting across outlets ties those sales to a ‘shadow fleet’ of aging tankers and ship-to-ship transfers that obscured tracking and delivered crude to willing buyers, with China identified as the principal destination.
- U.S.-led naval pressure cut Iran’s exports to under about 300,000 barrels per day by May, producing a multibillion-dollar shortfall, but the blockade eased during the ceasefire and shipments rapidly rebounded.
- Iran’s oil minister’s figures conflict with a statement by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf that the blockade had halted exports, highlighting official disagreement about actual flows and revenue.
- Analysts say post-blockade cargoes fetched roughly a 20% premium, payments likely moved through traditional channels rather than crypto, and the revenue helped cover more than 60% of Iran’s projected oil income for the year.