Iran is facing its deepest economic crisis in a decade — The Wall Street Journal
Iran has found itself in its worst economic crisis in decades amid a U.S. embargo that has effectively paralyzed its oil exports. Budget revenues are plummeting, inflation is accelerating, and the national currency is hitting new all-time lows.
Six months after the start of the war with the U.S., Tehran, according to a source, is unable to export a single barrel of oil. Stocks of crude oil, which are currently being sold from previously loaded tankers, are gradually running out. At the same time, about one-third of Iran’s budget revenue depends on oil proceeds.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts that Iran’s GDP will contract by 5.4% this year. This could be the country’s worst performance since the 1980s, when Iran was at war with Iraq following the Islamic Revolution. During that war, both sides attacked hundreds of oil tankers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing data from the ship-tracking service Kpler, since the U.S. blockade was reinstated in mid-July, not a single Iranian tanker has managed to get through it.
Small volumes of Iranian oil are still being loaded onto tankers, but the vessels remain blocked in the Persian Gulf. If the situation does not change, Iran’s ability to maintain exports and generate oil revenues will continue to decline, putting further pressure on the country’s economy.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
As a reminder, the U.S. intercepted 94 merchant ships following the new blockade of Iran.
Prior to this, Iran announced a response to the new U.S. attacks, and ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has decreased.
