Since the U.S. State Department announced last year that it expects all foreign countries to reduce their imports of Iranian oil to zero, Iran’s oil revenues have taken a dive. It was announced earlier this week that the country’s exports of crude oil are at the lowest they have been this year. The U.S. is expected to further crack down on Iran’s oil shipment in May and it seems that buyers are anticipating this by cutting their purchases.
The oil restrictions that the U.S. put in place last November after exiting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have already cut Iran’s oil revenue significantly.
In the past few weeks, it appears that Iran is averaging less than 1 million barrels per day (bpd). This is less than the 1.1 million bpd that was predicted.
The Trump administration has previously said that it is aiming to cut Iran’s output to less than 1 million bpd from next month. So far it is on target to meet this goal. In order to ensure that oil prices did not drastically rise, Washington issued waivers to a number of countries. Japan, China, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Turkey, Italy and Greece have been allowed to continue purchasing Iran oil, albeit with restrictions in place. Next month, Washington will no doubt expect the limitations to become even tighter.
Tehran has said that it is going to continue exporting its oil despite the U.S. sanctions, but the decision may be out of the regime’s hands if other countries decide against risking U.S. pressure.
The Trump administration has been set on curbing the Iran threat since the president took office. Trump has spoken out about the regime’s belligerence and the threat it poses to the international community, and especially the Middle East. He has identified Iran as the number one threat to peace and security in the region and has recognised it as the world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism.
Last week, the U.S. President announced that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is being designated as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) – a designation that has been warranted for quite some time. Although this is a major move – it is the first time a U.S. government has ever designated another country’s military as an FTO – it is a move that the people of Iran welcome and appreciate.
The designation will curtail the IRGC’s resources to crackdown on the people of Iran. The IRGC controls a large portion of the country’s economy so the financial impact should be significant.
2018 was a year of great domestic unrest and the Iranian regime knows that the people of Iran have the will and the strength to overthrow the mullahs. Any international pressure will greatly assist the people in meeting their goal.
Society is once again simmering with unrest following the massive flooding that affected, and still is affecting, large parts of the country. Once again, the regime is proving itself to be completely incapable of handling the situation and the people are fed up.
Source » ncr-iran