[Reuters]
[Reuters]

Iran said it has continued exporting crude oil despite a tightening US maritime blockade and expanded sanctions.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said Thursday (local time) that "oil sales have not stopped," adding that deliveries to customers in distant waters were ongoing, even as volumes had declined, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

He declined to provide specifics, saying that disclosing details "could be exploited by the enemy."

Earlier, the United States on Monday declared "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign to sanction third countries that do business with Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the US goal was "to sever every economic lifeline sustaining this tyranny until Tehran stands alone."

Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen from roughly 20 million barrels per day to between 8 million and 12 million barrels as of mid-August, with about 80 percent of vessels traveling with their identification transponders switched off.

China is Iran's largest oil buyer, purchasing more than 80 percent of its crude exports.

Bessent stopped short of announcing specific measures targeting China. Donald Trump is preparing to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit next month.

The IMF projected Iran's GDP would contract 5.4 percent this year. In July, the country's annual inflation rate exceeded 88 percent, with food prices rising more than 128 percent.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com