For roughly six weeks, Iranian crude oil sat in onshore storage while US naval assets blocked tanker traffic from leaving port. Then the blockade came off, and the oil moved fast. Iran has now exported 50 million barrels of crude in the two weeks since the US lifted its port blockade around June 18, 2026.
To put that number in perspective: before the blockade, Iran was shipping roughly 2.1 million barrels per day. The blockade pushed that figure to effectively zero by late May. What happened next was less a resumption of trade and more a dam breaking.
From zero to flood: what happened and how fast
The US naval blockade began in April 2026, timed to the escalating conflict and rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Within weeks, seaborne crude exports from Iran collapsed. Trackers like Kpler and TankerTrackers reported absolute zero departures by late May.
The blockade was lifted following a US-Iran interim agreement that included terms governing access through the Strait of Hormuz. Once the green light came through around June 18, tankers began moving immediately.
