AhlulBayt News Agency: An energy analyst believes Iran’s recent decision to stop concealing the location of its oil tankers after seven years may signal a direct challenge to the United States and its escalating sanctions campaign.
Homayoun Falakshahi, a senior analyst at energy data firm Kpler, stated on Tuesday that Iran’s move to publicly broadcast the positions of its oil tankers—starting earlier this month—could indicate that Tehran is no longer intimidated by U.S. threats to seize its vessels.
Since the U.S. imposed sanctions in 2018, Iran has employed various strategies to bypass restrictions and continue selling oil on global markets.
A significant portion of Iran’s oil exports has gone to private refineries in China, with tankers often disabling their Automatic Identification System (AIS) to avoid detection.
Falakshahi told ILNA that Iran may be signaling defiance by activating AIS, showing it is unafraid of sanctions or potential ship seizures by the U.S.
However, he noted that Iran’s true motivation remains unclear. It could be a response to renewed UN sanctions allowing foreign inspections of Iranian ships, or a sign that China may resume official oil purchases from Iran without fearing U.S. penalties.
The analyst warned that the reimposed UN sanctions and increasing U.S. restrictions on Chinese ports and vessels could disrupt Iran’s oil exports to China in the near future.
Nevertheless, he predicted that Iranian oil shipments to China would likely recover early next year, once Beijing renews import quotas for small refineries.
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