While the Islamic Republic’s Oil Minister claims that Iranian oil exports are continuing “as usual,” the United States has announced that it will reimplement a maritime blockade against tankers linked to Iranian oil exports starting Tuesday evening. This development comes as tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil accumulate at sea and global oil prices experience an upward surge.
Mohsen Paknejad, the Oil Minister of the 14th government, wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that oil exports are continuing without interruption despite the expiration of a 60-day sanctions waiver. He asserted that the ministry has maintained the “necessary strategies” to neutralize sanctions over the past several years. Paknejad, who was placed on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list in March 2026 due to his role in oil-smuggling networks, did not provide any specific details regarding these mechanisms.
Simultaneously, US President Donald Trump announced the return of the naval blockade on Monday, stating that the Islamic Republic had violated its commitments following the recent interim agreement. Describing the United States as the “guardian of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump declared that Washington would not allow Iranian oil exports to proceed without consequences. The US Navy confirmed that the reimplementation of the blockade would commence at 4:00 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, around 11:30 PM Tehran time.
