With hopes for reviving US-Iran negotiations having faded, the US is hoping that it can force concessions from Iran through tightening the economic noose. Washington has announced tighter economic measures against Tehran and its trading partners in an effort to extract concessions (see p13). Whether the shift from ‘Maximum Pressure’ to ‘Economic D-Day’ proves successful remains to be seen, but the blockade of Iranian shipping has so far proven the most effective measure in the US arsenal.
The US reimposed the blockade on 14 July following Iranian attacks on merchant ships (MEES, 17 July), and it has sharply reduced Iran’s oil loadings as shadow-fleet tankers are unable to enter or exit the Gulf. This initially led to a buildup in floating storage, but as Iran runs out of tankers it will eventually have to cut oil production, which averaged 2.45mn b/d last month. (CONTINUED - 909 WORDS)
