THERAN - Iran’s oil exports remained at record highs in June despite promises by the current U.S. administration to cut shipments to near zero.
Data from Vortexa, a major international tanker tracking service, released on Wednesday showed that Iran had exported nearly 1.8 million bpd of oil, almost flat from May and on par with post-sanction era records reported in September last year.
The figures were cited in a report by the IRIB News and had been first reported by the Deutsche Welle (DW).
The DW report described the figures as one of the highs on record since Iran’s oil exports came under U.S. sanctions in 2018 during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Trump signed a presidential order in February to restore his so-called maximum pressure campaign on Iran.
His administration has announced rounds of new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports, including bans on tankers, companies, and even on entities in China, the country that is by far the largest buyer of Iranian oil through its private refineries.
U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, whose department is responsible for enforcing sanctions on Iran, had said in early months of Trump’s current presidency that Washington was committed to reducing Iran’s oil exports to below 100,000 bpd.
Vortexa released figures in July showing that Iran had been shipping an average of 1.8 million bpd of oil in certain weeks in the past few months. However, its most recent figures show Iran has stabilized its exports at high levels.
The data shows that even a 12-day Israeli war of aggression on Iran, which took place last month and was supported by the U.S., failed to affect the country’s booming presence in the international oil markets.