US naval blockade halts Iran oil exports to trigger economic crisis

A U.S. naval blockade of Iran has effectively halted the country’s oil exports and local fuel supplies, according to tanker data and reports from Washington-allied analysts on Wednesday, 9 September. The maritime cordon has physically obstructed fresh cargoes to China, Tehran’s primary buyer, marking a shift from previous sanctions regimes that were bypassed by shadow fleets. Oil shipments collapse at Hormuz Data from Reuters and maritime tracking services indicate that Iran has recorded virtually no meaningful crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz for seven consecutive weeks. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed that while record volumes of global oil continue to transit the waterway under escort, the blockade is specifically designed to isolate Iranian cargoes. Estimates suggest that on peak days, over 40 vessels carrying 17 million barrels of non-Iranian oil move through the strait under U.S. protection. The economic impact has reached a critical threshold, with the rial’s depreciation accelerating as export revenues vanish. A former U.S. Treasury official told American media that the squeeze on elite patronage networks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) funding base could destabilise the administration within months. Tehran expands maritime exclusion zones In response to the blockade, Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, announced plans for a new "restricted zone" near the Strait of Hormuz.…