$5 Billion Squeeze: Pentagon Says US Blockade Is Draining Iran's Oil Revenue. Now Tehran May Be Running Out Of Storage

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The United States military blockade in the Gulf of Oman has denied Iran close to $5 billion in oil income since mid-April, according to Pentagon estimates quoted by Axios, as Washington intensifies economic pressure on Tehran to force a negotiated end to the war.

Pentagon Says 53 Million Barrels of Iranian Oil Are Stuck in the Gulf

The US Defense Department has estimated that Iran has been denied nearly $5 billion in oil revenue since the Gulf of Oman blockade began on 13 April, according to Pentagon officials, as 31 tankers carrying 53 million barrels of Iranian crude remain stranded and unable to deliver their cargo.

The figures represent what officials describe as unprecedented economic pressure on Tehran's government, and come as peace negotiations between the two countries continue to stall and restart.

How the US Gulf of Oman Blockade Is Squeezing Iran's Oil Exports

Since the blockade was established, the US military has redirected more than 40 vessels that attempted to pass through while carrying oil and other contraband, Pentagon officials said. The 31 tankers currently immobilised in the Gulf carry cargo valued at a minimum of $4.8 billion. Two ships have been seized outright by the US military.

With new tankers unable to load Iranian oil and on-land storage facilities approaching capacity, Iran has been forced to repurpose older vessels as floating storage units, a development that signals the blockade is beginning to bite at an operational level.

Some tankers have already begun taking longer and more expensive alternative routes to deliver oil to China, officials said, specifically to avoid the risk of US maritime interdiction.

Iran's 'Shadow Fleet' Seeks Ways Around the Blockade

Not all Iranian vessels have remained idle. Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers, pointed to the movements of a large Iranian oil tanker named "HUGE" as an example of how Tehran's fleet has attempted to circumvent US interdiction. The vessel hugged the coastlines of Pakistan and India before reaching the relative safety of the Malacca Strait in Malaysia, where crude oil is typically transferred to other ships bound for China.

Madani warned that the current standoff may not hold indefinitely. As bottled-up tankers accumulate near Pakistani waters, Iran could eventually attempt a coordinated mass breakout.

"I think the Iranians will wait for an opportunity to launch an overnight 'Great Escape' once they have built up even further storage near the border with Pakistan," he told Axios.

Iran Could Run Out of Oil Storage Within Weeks, Analysts Warn

The strategic objective of the US blockade is to push Iran past its storage capacity, which would force a shutdown of oil wells and deliver a deeper blow to the country's economy. According to one analyst, that threshold may be approaching faster than Tehran can manage.

"They're probably several weeks, or perhaps as much as a month, away from running out of storage," Gregory Brew, an analyst with the Eurasia Group, told Axios.

Once storage reaches capacity, Iran would face a stark choice between halting oil production or seeking a negotiated exit from the conflict, making the blockade the single most consequential lever in Washington's pressure campaign against Tehran.

Both Sides Are Using Blockades as Economic Weapons

The Gulf of Oman blockade exists within a broader context of reciprocal economic warfare. Iran moved first, blockading the Strait of Hormuz to bottle up international shipping and disrupt global oil flows. The US responded by establishing its own blockade at the western entrance to the Gulf of Oman, effectively sealing off Iran's primary export route.

The result is a cold war phase of the conflict in which both parties are attempting to inflict maximum economic damage without triggering a direct military escalation.

Pentagon Calls Blockade a 'Devastating Blow' to Iran's Finances

Pentagon acting press secretary Joel Valdez offered an unambiguous assessment of the blockade's impact in an official statement.

"We are inflicting a devastating blow to the Iranian regime's ability to fund terrorism and regional destabilisation," Valdez said. "Our armed forces in the region will continue to maintain this unrelenting pressure."

Valdez added that the blockade is "operating with full force and delivering the decisive impact we intended."

The Pentagon's decision to publicise the $4.8 billion figure reflects a deliberate effort to demonstrate the blockade's effectiveness at a moment when diplomatic talks with Iran remain fragile. For Trump, the economic stranglehold represents his most significant point of leverage in any eventual negotiation to end the conflict.

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