Iran oil minister says US blockade 'failing' to curb oil exports

Iranian officials said on April 30 that a US naval blockade had failed to choke off the country's oil exports and that Tehran had enough storage capacity to see it through for another 30 days, pushing back against reports that Washington planned to tighten restrictions on Iranian shipments.

Iran has been the only country that has been exporting its oil from the Persian Gulf since the Revolutionary Guards closed it on March 2. The US naval blockade imposed two weeks ago has effectively slowed the flow of oil out and deprived the Iranian government of an estimated $175mn a day from oil exports.

"With the measures and solutions envisaged, the enemy will not achieve any result in this area either," Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad said, according to Shana News Agency.

He was referring to the US naval blockade on vessels linked to Iran that has been in place since April 13 in waters beyond the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, including the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean. Paknejad added that the US move ran contrary to international law.

The blockade, part of US President Donald Trump's strategy, aims in part to fill Iran's oil storage tanks by preventing exports. Trump said on April 26 that Iran's storage capacity would run out within three days and that its oil infrastructure could "explode" due to pressure from halted flows.

Three days on, no such disruption occurred. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked the claim, calling it the result of "junk advice."

"3 days in, no well exploded. We could extend to 30 and livestream the well here," Ghalibaf wrote on the X platform. "That was the kind of junk advice the US admin gets from people like [Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent, who also pushes the blockade theory and cranked oil up to $120+."

Oil prices have jumped amid the standoff. Brent crude rose nearly 7% to more than $126 a barrel, the highest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, after reports that the US military was preparing new options for the war on Iran. Axios reported that US Central Command had drawn up plans for a wave of "short and powerful" strikes aimed at breaking a deadlock in negotiations with Tehran. US-traded West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3% to around $109 a barrel.

Ghalibaf warned prices could climb further, writing: "Next stop: $140."

Iran and the United States declared a ceasefire on April 8 in a war launched by Washington and Israel in late November. Subsequent talks in Pakistan aimed at securing a lasting peace agreement failed, after which Washington imposed the blockade on vessels heading to or leaving Iranian ports.

US officials claim the blockade is working. CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said it had been "highly effective", preventing 41 Iranian-linked tankers carrying cargoes worth more than $6bn from moving.

"Right now, there are 41 tankers with 69mn barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can't sell," Cooper said, according to CBS News. He added that since the blockade began, US forces had redirected 42 commercial vessels attempting to break through it.