Updated

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed in a social media post that Iran loaded zero crude oil onto tankers in September, citing the effectiveness of the US blockade of Iranian ports that has been in place since April. The blockade primarily targets Iran's oil exports to China, historically its most profitable trade, and has reportedly deepened the country's inflation crisis. While Bessent described the blockade as severing Tehran's 'economic lifeline,' the claim has been complicated by persistent reports of vessels evading detection, raising questions about the true scale of the disruption to Iran's oil trade.