The United States naval blockade of Iran has come into effect as President Donald Trump\u2019s administration tries to pressure Tehran into accepting its terms for an end to their war by trying to squeeze the Iranian economy.<\/p>\n
The blockade began at 14:00 GMT on Monday. Iran\u2019s armed forces have called it \u201can illegal act\u201d that \u201camounts to piracy\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Even though Iran has become accustomed to US sanctions and has continued to function during the war, a blockade like this could inflict significant damage to Iran\u2019s economy, analysts said.<\/p>\n
How much can this blockade hurt Iran? Here\u2019s what we know:<\/p>\n
How will the blockade hurt Iran\u2019s oil revenue?<\/p>\n
Iran primarily exports oil and gas through its ports. Soon after the start of the US-Israel war on Iran on February 28, authorities in Tehran announced what amounted to a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the only waterway out of the Gulf, through which 20 percent of the world\u2019s oil and gas supplies pass in peacetime.<\/p>\n
The near-shutdown of the vital chokepoint sent global oil and gas prices soaring, and since then, Iran has controlled the strait: Only ships from a few countries that struck individual deals with Tehran were allowed through.<\/p>\n
But throughout that period, Iran itself continued to export its energy products through the strait.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz account<\/a> for about 80 percent of its total exports. According to Kpler, a trade intelligence firm, Iran exported 1.84 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in March and has shipped 1.71 million bpd so far in April, compared with an average of 1.68 million bpd in 2025.<\/p>\n In other words, Iranian exports through the strait actually increased in March and early April.<\/p>\n From March 15 to April 14, it exported 55.22 million barrels of oil. The price per barrel of Iranian oil \u2013 across its three major variants, known as Iranian light, Iranian heavy and Forozan blend \u2013 has not fallen below $90 per barrel over the past month. On many days, the price has actually surpassed $100 a barrel.<\/p>\n Even at the conservative estimate of $90 a barrel, Iran would have earned $4.97bn over the past month from oil exports.<\/p>\n By contrast, in early February before the war started, Iran was earning about $115m a day from its crude oil exports, or $3.45bn in a month.<\/p>\n Simply put, Iran has earned 40 percent more from oil exports in the past month than it did before the war.<\/p>\n But now, with the US military blockading Iran\u2019s ports and the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran\u2019s capacity to export crude oil has been directly hit \u2013 and dramatically so, experts said.<\/p>\n \u201cIran would not be able to export oil, at least not at the same level,\u201d Mohamad Elmasry, professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera before referring to Tehran\u2019s reported collection of fees<\/a> from non-Iranian vessels it is allowing to pass through the strait. \u201cThe Iranians also wouldn\u2019t be able to get tolls.\u201d<\/p>\n Frederic Schneider, a nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, agreed.<\/p>\n He told Al Jazeera that the previous six weeks had been a boon for Iran in terms of oil revenues, but with the US blockade, that will change.<\/p>\n \u201cIran has some buffer in the form of crude oil reserves in floating tanks, basically parked tankers, which was estimated at about 127 million barrels in February. But that doesn\u2019t mean that the blockade wouldn\u2019t hurt Iran.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n According to<\/a> the maritime intelligence agency Windward, as of Monday, total Iranian oil on the water was about 157.7 million barrels. Of this, 97.6 percent was destined for China.<\/p>\n Windward warned that all of this oil could be impacted by the US blockade.<\/p>\n Will trade of other goods be impacted?<\/p>\n Besides oil, the US blockade of Iranian ports could also impact Tehran\u2019s trade of other goods.<\/p>\n Some key exports shipped through its ports include petrochemicals, plastics and agricultural products that primarily go to countries like China and India while major imports include industrial machinery, electronics and food, primarily sourced from China, the United Arab Emirates and Turkiye.<\/p>\n