Iran collected $1.5 billion in oil export revenues in a month to October 22, according to the Fars News Agency. In the first six months of current fiscal year, started on March 21, the country collected $16 billion, averaging $2.66 billion per month.
This means Iran’s monthly oil revenue collections fell by approximately 44% in October compared with the average for the first half of the Iranian fiscal year.
Chinese refineries, the Islamic Republic’s only oil customers, typically pay for shipments about two months after receiving them. In other words, the $1.5 billion collected in October corresponds to oil shipments delivered to China in August.
According to Kpler data obtained by Voice of America, Iran delivered an average of 1 million barrels of oil per day to China during the three months ending in late October, down 40% from the average in the first four months of the Iranian year.
The United States imposed a naval blockade on the Islamic Republic on July 14, 2026, bringing Iran’s oil transit to a complete halt.
Oil tanker tracking data indicate that Iranian oil loadings also stopped on August 15, as the Islamic Republic lost access to empty tankers.
Against this backdrop, U.S. Treasury Secretary recently compared the Islamic Republic’s situation to that of “a company on the verge of bankruptcy.” He said no oil loadings had been observed at Iran’s Kharg Island oil facilities since August and that no Iranian oil cargoes were currently at sea outside the blockade zone.
Kpler data indicate that Iran currently has 57 million barrels of stranded floating oil inventories trapped inside the blockade zone. No new cargoes have been loaded for weeks because the Islamic Republic cannot access empty tankers.
Kpler noted that Iran’s floating oil inventories outside the blockade zone were depleted over the past week and said that oil revenue collections are expected to fall to zero by mid-December.
Meanwhile, Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, claimed on October 23 that the country’s foreign exchange reserves would be sufficient to cover its import needs through the end of President Donald Trump’s term and beyond.
According to the Central Bank of Iran, the country earned $57.44 billion from oil exports in 2025, accounting for 55% of total exports. Excluding oil, Iran recorded a $46 billion deficit in its trade balance for goods and services in the Iranian year 1404 (March 21, 2025–March 20, 2026).
Originally published by Voice of America.