EXCLUSIVE: Iran ships some LPG, jet fuel despite US blockade, data shows
- At least 8 LPG tankers sneaking out of the Gulf of Oman since mid-July, totaling a paltry 4.1 million barrels—enough to keep the mullahs in hummus, not to fund a nuclear breakout.
- One rogue jet fuel tanker made it to Myanmar, proving that if you're desperate enough and the other guy's sanctions are toothless, you can still sell gas to the junta.
- The US military calls the blockade 'ironclad' while simultaneously admitting it lets some ships through for 'humanitarian reasons'—which is a fancy way of saying 'we can't be bothered to stop everyone.'
- Iran's crude exports hit zero in September for the first time since 2013, but the regime is pivoting to the petrochemical equivalent of selling lemonade at a lemon festival.
- Malaysia's 'Eastern Outer Port Limits' remains the Panama of the sea for washing Iranian oil stains off cargoes before they sail to likely destinations in China.
Brief Summary
Reuters has unearthed the stunning, world-shattering news that Iran has managed to smuggle a handful of gas tankers and one (1) jet fuel carrier past a US blockade that the military insists is 'ironclad'. The US Navy says it turned around 135 ships and disabled 4 more, but somehow 4.1 million barrels of LPG and a tanker of aviation fuel for Myanmar's bombing campaign slipped through. The Pentagon's response to this breach of 'ironclad' security? The vessels might have been allowed through 'for humanitarian reasons,' or the tracking data is fake, or the tankers were just very polite and showed nice paperwork. In other words, it's not a blockade, it's a vibe-based interdiction system.
Why This Matters
For the average American, this is a reminder that your tax dollars are funding a naval blockade that acts like a bouncer who checks IDs but lets in anyone with a fake mustache and a clever alias. The 'ironclad' blockade has effectively shut down Iran's crude oil exports, which is great for keeping gasoline prices stable, but it's a leaky system that allows niche products like jet fuel to flow to a genocidal junta in Myanmar. That's not just a strategic failure; it's a moral one, because jet fuel doesn't run on vibes—it runs on literal fuel used to bomb civilians.