The Naval Blockade is Already Working
Amid the slow, if not deadlocked, pace of talks between the United States and Iran, the Trump administration is bolstering its negotiating team. At the same time, a new report presents data illustrating that the economic and military pressure is already bearing fruit. The report indicates that the naval blockade imposed by the United States on Iranian ports nearly three weeks ago is largely achieving its goals, especially in terms of harming Tehran’s ability to export oil and operate its trade networks.
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A new report presents a detailed picture of the naval blockade: According to the data, since April 13, only 17 vessels that met the criteria have managed to cross the blockade line, while at least 45 relevant vessels have been stopped – 44 were diverted from their course and one more was captured. This means that most attempts to break the siege actually failed. The data also shows that about a quarter of the ships that crossed the line did so on the first day, and since then there has been a significant decrease in the number of intrusions.
One of the key findings of the report, conducted by the JINSA research institute, regards the type of vessels that managed to pass through. None of the ships that crossed the blockade line were oil or gas tankers, meaning they were not the vessels that generate the bulk of the Iranian regime’s revenue. All of the vessels that passed through were general cargo ships, some of them relatively small.
This means the blockade is successfully hitting Iran’s central weak point: its ability to export energy. According to intelligence estimates presented in the report, Iranian oil exports have already decreased by about 80 percent since the beginning of the move – a figure that illustrates the blockade’s direct economic impact.
The report emphasizes that the success of the blockade cannot be assessed solely by the number of ships stopped or passed. A significant part of the impact comes from deterrence: many players in the shipping and energy markets avoid cooperating with Iran in advance, due to the risk of being caught or affected by sanctions.
The result is a broader damage to Iran’s economic activity, even beyond what can be seen in the maritime traffic data. The naval blockade is only part of a broader campaign that the United States is waging against Iran, which also includes sanctions against financial networks, shipping companies, and refineries related to Iranian trade.
In addition, these measures raise the price for anyone who chooses to act against Tehran and create cumulative economic pressure. According to the report, the impact of the move is already being felt on the ground: Iran is having difficulty storing the oil it cannot export, is being forced to reduce production, and is dealing with an increasing load on its storage facilities.
In parallel with strengthening the team and economic pressure, President Trump is holding to a tough negotiating position. The president said that he is not satisfied with the Iranian proposal to resume talks, and made it clear that if the talks fail, the United States will act forcefully.
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Read the full article in Walla News.