Iran’s oil exports stall as Kharg Island idles under US blockade

Kharg Island, the tiny speck in the Persian Gulf that handles roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports, has gone quiet again. A reimposed US naval blockade is keeping tankers from loading, effectively cutting off a nation’s economic lifeline for the second time in three months. The blockade, first established around April 13, had already halted tanker loadings for multiple consecutive days in May. A brief reprieve between mid-June and early July let Iran push an estimated 40 to 70 million barrels out the door, mostly to Asian buyers. Then, around July 7, the restrictions snapped back into place. How the blockade works Under normal sanctions-era conditions, Kharg Island processes between 1.1 and 1.5 million barrels per day. By restricting port access and controlling movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the US Navy has effectively isolated crude oil sitting in storage facilities and aboard tankers. The physical infrastructure on Kharg Island remains largely intact. The problem isn’t damage. It’s access. No ocean-going tankers were observed at the terminal for several consecutive days during the May shutdown. Crude that would normally flow to refineries across Asia instead sat in flo...