Iran Resumes Large-Scale Oil Shipments Following Interim Agreement with Washington

Iran has begun shipping significant quantities of oil previously held due to US sanctions, a move that could boost Tehran's economy following its signing of a temporary peace memorandum of understanding with Washington last Wednesday. Shipping tracking data revealed the departure of 11 tankers carrying approximately 20 million barrels of oil from Iran's Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman last week. US forces had previously prevented these tankers from sailing into the Indian Ocean, as part of efforts to curb Iran's oil export revenues, most of which typically go to China. This increase in shipment activity comes as Iran continues to assert its control over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian authority overseeing transit in the Arabian Gulf, in an electronic document, clarified that shipping companies are obligated to use designated routes and outlined a mechanism for imposing fees on transiting vessels. Although the MoU signed between Washington and Tehran was supposed to contribute to the resumption of oil and gas flows from the region, the most significant indicator of increased exports so far has come from Chabahar port, located outside the Arabian Gulf near Iran's border with Pakistan. No non-Iranian tankers were observed leaving the Arabian Gulf on Friday morning, unlike Thursday, when tankers carrying approximately 10 million barrels of oil were sighted either outside or crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The supertanker "Tenzan," which reappeared in the Gulf of Oman, also appeared to have crossed the Strait overnight. Additional shipments are likely to materialize in the coming days, amid an increasing trend of vessels turning off their tracking devices while transiting the Strait of Hormuz and sailing along the Omani coast.