Iran's Oil Exports Stall for Seven Weeks, the First Time on Record

Per Reuters, published Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (10 Shahrivar 1405), for the first time on record Iran has gone about seven weeks without shipping meaningful crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz to China, its only major remaining oil customer, a result analysts attribute to the US naval blockade rather than sanctions alone. Tanker-tracking data from data source, data source and TankerTrackers.com show no Iranian crude cargo has cleared Hormuz for China since the US reinstated its blockade on July 14 as part of the two countries' six-month conflict; Iran can now only sell from floating storage in Asian waters. Iran's crude and condensate loadings fell to roughly 220,000 to 255,000 barrels per day in August, down from about 740,000 barrels per day in July and nearly 2 million barrels per day in March. A data source analyst said the export collapse could push Tehran to finance spending by printing money, risking even higher inflation; the IMF estimates Iran's inflation this year at nearly 70 percent, the world's third highest after Venezuela and Sudan.