Exports to neighbors continue amid shipping disruptions: Chamber
Exports to neighboring countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia and Central Asia are continuing intensely, though goods previously routed through the UAE remain stalled, a senior Iranian trade official said.
Hamid Hosseini, a member of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, told ISNA that while trade with immediate neighbors was proceeding, goods previously shipped to Jebel Ali under UAE documentation continued to face unresolved challenges.
"We are negotiating with Iraq and Pakistan to transfer our imported goods through these routes and carry out our exports, but we are still facing problems," Hosseini said.
He said most importers who had unloaded containers in Pakistan and India due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz were now working to resolve their logistical issues, adding that few were currently seeking to import new goods.
Since May 13 and after a 40-day illegal war of aggression, the US has imposed a so-called naval blockade on Iranian ports on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil supply passes, disrupting shipping routes and energy trade.
Hosseini noted that shipments of essential goods, medicine and other basic needs had not been disrupted, with food and other products continuing to enter the country and likely exiting as well.
Touching on crude oil and refined products, he said, “US forces were present at the entrance to the Indian Ocean, and based on satellite tracking and vessel monitoring, ships with a history of oil tanker operations or cooperation with Iran were being allowed to depart but not to enter Iranian waters.”
Hosseini emphasized that even if vessels could reach Iranian ports to load cargo, they could currently only be used as floating storage.
"Just as many countries in the region were forced to cut their oil production, reports indicate that our production has decreased by about 11%, and we may have to reduce it further in the future if storage tanks fill up and ships fail to arrive," he said.
Washington continues to intensify sanctions and blockade enforcement targeting Iran's oil sector, with US officials repeatedly stating that measures aimed at shipping networks, intermediaries and tankers are designed to curb Tehran's crude exports and restrict revenue flows.
However, TankerTrackers has said Iran still has access to numerous oil tankers capable of loading and transporting its crude shipments, suggesting Tehran retains logistical flexibility despite years of Western sanctions on its energy and shipping industries.
The oil-tracking service said that Iran still has available oil storage capacity at its main export hub on Kharg Island and retains a sizeable fleet of tankers capable of transporting crude, amid renewed US claims that sanctions pressure is constraining Tehran's oil exports.