Iran strikes disrupt shadow oil shipping routes used by Russia and China

Tehran’s strike campaign threatens to disrupt shadow shipping networks and sanctions evasion routes, raising energy costs for Moscow and Beijing and potentially straining Russian war finances and China’s industrial and military supply chains.

As of Monday, the Iranian regime announced the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz – between Iran’s Hormuz Island and Oman’s Khasab enclave – under the threat of “burning” ships.

Tanker traffic fell sharply immediately, with merchant mariners now fearing missile strikes, but the conflict has also affected the so-called “shadow fleet” of unflagged or stealth-flagged oil tankers connected to economically isolated countries such as Cuba, Iran and Russia.

The United States has already established a quasi-marine quarantine for Oil imports to CubaWhile countries like Mexico have been warned against sending oil to malicious regimes.

The satellite image shows the Strait of Hormuz, a major sea lane connecting the Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, which is vital to global energy supplies. (Amanda Macias/Fox News Digital)

As did the European partners Take action against the “Shadow Fleet” ships, tightening the noose on China and especially Russia amid the new unrest.

On Monday, the Belgian Army intercepted a Shadow Fleet tanker called MT Ethera as it was crossing the North Sea.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken He told Captain News The tanker was redirected to Zeebrugge by escort and would be seized by Brussels.

“Operation Blue Intruder was carried out by a team of exceptionally brave service personnel. Excellent work,” he said, as the outlet also reported that the ship was linked to a close associate of Khamenei.

The tanker MT Ethera is said to be linked to the son of senior political advisor Ali Shamkhani, whose family is said to control an entire fleet of tankers that could be used to facilitate Iranian and Russian oil trade.

Russian oil tanker ‘The GRINCH’ intercepted as allies escalate sanctions campaign

A time-lapse video shows marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. (Kepler/Marine Traffic)

A consortium of Western powers is also imposing a price ceiling for Urals, which fell to about $44 a barrel last month. The price cap, named after the Ural Mountains, aims to keep Russian oil below free market prices.

This new Western targeting of the so-called “gray market” of shadow fleet oil points to potential problems for countries that depend on it, such as: China and Cuba.

Reports indicate that China relies heavily on Iran for oil subject to sanctions, while Russia may witness further austerity that could negatively impact the cash flow needed to continue its war in Ukraine.

In addition, this week US Central Command released a video of a US strike on an Iranian ship carrying a drone. Brad Cooper said that more than 30 ships linked to Tehran have sunk since the attack began. According to Navy Today.

“In the last few hours alone, we struck an Iranian drone carrier that is roughly the size of a World War II-era aircraft carrier, and it is currently on fire,” Cooper told the site.

The ayatollah and his next 48 successors were reported to have been obliterated by the president Donald TrumpVenezuela’s census, coupled with the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, leaves not only the shadow fleet but also suppliers to client nations in disarray.

Fires burn at the naval headquarters of the Iranian Bandar Abbas Navy, halting traffic in the Strait of Hormuz

Just as OPEC interest rate hikes affect US energy prices, dismantling the shadow fleet could also lead to inflation in China.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Treasury Department for more information on the effects of the Shadow Fleet, which oversees the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

In the past few weeks, The Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions 30 individuals or entities linked to enabling illegal Iranian oil sales and/or profiting from weapons production as part of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign.

“Office targeted additional vessels operating as part of Iran’s shadow fleet, which transports Iranian oil and petroleum products to foreign markets and serves as a major source of revenue for the regime to fund domestic repression, terrorist proxies, and weapons programs,” the agency said in a statement.

Treasury Secretary Scott Besent added, “Iran is exploiting financial systems to illicitly sell oil, launder the proceeds, purchase components for its nuclear and conventional weapons programs, and support its terrorist proxies.”

“Treasury will continue to exert maximum pressure on Iran to target the regime’s weapons capabilities and support terrorism, which it has prioritized over the lives of the Iranian people,” Besant said.

Gas prices may rise as tensions in the Middle East threaten global oil supplies

Tanker Dashan of the Russian Shadow Fleet transits the Bosphorus Strait on its way to the Black Sea in Istanbul. (Yuruk Isik/Reuters)

OFAC then listed dozens of ships it confirmed were sanctioned “shadow fleet” vessels.

“Instead of allocating these revenues to benefit the Iranian people, the regime ultimately siphons them off to fund regional terrorist proxies, weapons programs, and repressive security services, rather than meeting the basic economic needs that the Iranian people have repeatedly and courageously demanded,” the Treasury Department said.

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Ships tagged from The United States found that Panama, Barbados, Palau, Comoros, Iran and Vanuatu have transported millions of barrels of Iranian crude in recent years.

The Treasury Department, which oversees OFAC, did not respond to inquiries for this story.

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