Iran is selling about 260,000 barrels of crude a day. That is the August 2026 estimate in an energy brief published by Artesh, and it is an 80% decline from August 2025 and a 70% drop from July. Briefs.co, which puts the same 260,000 figure on the month, says July’s total was 893,000 barrels per day.
The cause, both outlets agree, is pressure from Washington: tighter US sanctions and a naval blockade. Briefs.co says the blockade was reinstated in mid-July after Iran targeted commercial tankers, and that US forces have since intercepted 75 vessels, disabled three and boarded two.
Washington’s stated aim
The strategy is economic rather than military. “We’re going to completely economically isolate Iran,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, calling the plan “Operation Economic Outcast”. He cited similar blockades that squeezed Venezuela and Cuba. Another US move came on August 28, when the Treasury’s FinCEN proposed revoking Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking access, alleging the bank processed $1.8 billion for Iranian shadow banking networks. On August 30, more than a dozen sanctioned Iranian tankers from the so-called dark fleet left their station off Sri Lankan waters and moved into international waters.
Tehran’s account
Iran’s government paints a steadier picture. The central bank reported receiving $7.5 billion in oil revenue over the first four months of the fiscal year, March 21 to July 22, which it said met 99% of budget projections for that period. Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad disputed claims that crude sales had stopped. President Masoud Pezeshkian, though, acknowledged a decline of 25-35% in Iran’s overall import and export activity.
There is also a storage problem. According to Briefs.co, some 20 million barrels of Iranian crude are stuck on tankers in Asian waters, mostly headed for China. Onshore storage is almost full, with space left for 20 million more barrels, after which producers would have to throttle back. Analysts quoted there say Iran may have to pick between cutting production and selling at steep discounts to covert buyers.
Hormuz and prices
The Strait of Hormuz remains a sore point. Briefs.co reports that oil traffic through it was 15 million barrels per day before fighting started on February 28 and is now 5-6 million. The UK Maritime Trade Organization rates the maritime threat as elevated and the risk as severe. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the strait stays closed unless the US complies with the Islamabad Memorandum, while Pezeshkian has described Iran’s agreement to reopen it as conditional.
Prices have eased from their peak. Brent crude settled at $88.29 on August 29, down 16% from July’s high, and West Texas Intermediate stood at $83.40. Briefs.co notes that alternative routes and reserves have kept prices from spiking so far, though a prolonged disruption could tighten supply later in the year.
Separately, Iran announced a new natural gas field in Fars province on August 24, with estimated recoverable reserves of over 160 billion cubic meters. Production is years away. Two petrochemical firms, Arvand and Ghadir, halted output on August 26 because of electricity shortages in Khuzestan province during a heatwave.
