Iran Manages to Export LPG and Jet Fuel Despite US Naval Blockade
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Iran has managed to export liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and jet fuel since July, despite the naval blockade imposed by the United States in the Gulf, according to maritime intelligence data and security sources cited by Reuters. Tehran concealed these cargoes amid a growing volume of ship-to-ship transfers carried out by other Gulf producers off the coast of Oman.
At least eight LPG carriers
An analysis by the group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which tracks tanker traffic linked to Iran through satellite monitoring, identified at least eight LPG carriers loaded with Iranian LPG that left the Gulf of Oman since mid-July. Another tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel arrived in Myanmar in September, according to satellite imagery and an analysis by the firm SynMax. Six of those eight LPG carriers and the jet fuel tanker are under US Treasury sanctions for transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. Jemima Shelley, senior analyst at UANI, noted that these shipments represent just a handful compared to the vast majority of tankers carrying Iranian products that were redirected by US forces.
According to Shelley, some vessels transferred cargoes near the Omani coastal towns of Shinas and Sohar, while others waited in the Gulf of Oman before evading the blockade. The total volume of LPG moved was estimated at 4.1 million barrels. The analyst attributed these shipments more to opportunism than to a new Iranian strategy involving small vessels, noting that most of the cargoes sailed toward Malaysia's eastern outer port limits for further STS transfers likely bound for China.
A blockade that Centcom calls unwavering
US Central Command (Centcom) imposed the blockade on oil exports linked to Iran on April 13, lifted it in June following a draft agreement with Tehran, and reimposed it on July 14 after that understanding collapsed, calling it "unwavering." A US military official explained that a vessel's passage does not necessarily mean it evaded the blockade, since each ship is assessed individually, including document review, and some may be allowed through for humanitarian or operational reasons. In an October 13 update, Centcom reported that during the three months of this latest blockade, four commercial vessels were disabled and 135 were diverted, in addition to previous tanker seizures.
Washington combined the blockade with additional sanctions: last week it added 17 vessels involved in transporting Iranian crude, petrochemicals and refined products. A Treasury spokesperson questioned the data suggesting blockade evasion, warning that ships can falsify their location or use false identities, and stated that Operation Economic Outcast, together with the blockade, is "strangling the Iranian regime." Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft noted that economic deterioration in Iran could push Tehran to take greater risks, and that jet fuel could be an attractive option given growing pressure on Iranian aviation, with more aircraft grounded and a possible surplus of jet fuel at the country's refineries.
Iranian crude exports fell to zero in September, according to the firm Kpler, the first month without shipments since it began monitoring the country in 2013. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the blockade prevented most Chinese purchases of Iranian oil and left Iran unable to deliver crude to its customers.
