Dozens of Idling Iranian Oil Tankers Show US Blockade Is Working

By Bloomberg News

Aug 5, 2026 (Bloomberg) –A growing flotilla of Iranian oil tankers is gathering off the country’s coast, a sign the renewed US naval blockade is disrupting Tehran’s energy exports and depriving it of much-needed revenue.

Some 50 laden vessels — mostly carrying crude, but also fuels and liquefied petroleum gas — were idling along Iran’s coastline in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as of Tuesday, according to nonprofit group United Against Nuclear Iran. That’s up from 45 a week earlier and 36 when the blockade was renewed on July 14.

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