Iran is targeting specific tankers and 75% of Iraq’s oil to Asia.
Iran is targeting specific tankers and 75% of Iraq’s oil to Asia.
2026-03-07
With the continued targeting of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, many Iraqis believe that traffic in the strait has completely stopped, and therefore the export of oil and oil products from Iraq has also stopped. However, in reality, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has confirmed more than once that it will only target American and Israeli oil tankers or those associated with their European allies. Therefore, it is assumed that oil exports from Iraq have not stopped, or at least the greater part of them. Of the 3.5 million barrels per day that Iraq exports, about 75% of them go to Asian countries, specifically China and India. Therefore, it is assumed that Iraqi oil exports to Asian countries are continuing without being targeted.
But the Iraqi government has not clearly revealed whether or not it has stopped exporting Iraqi oil, as official ambiguity prevails on this issue. This silence may reveal an attempt by the authorities to exploit this crisis to address the financial crisis. Any delay in paying salaries or postponing them will make Iraqis understandable, unlike if the Iraqi authorities announced that oil exports are continuing.
In a report by Alsumaria TV, which tracked websites specializing in tracking tankers, we observed the presence of oil tankers loaded with Iraqi oil that had already left Iraqi ports, some of which crossed the Strait of Hormuz easily, as well as other tankers not affiliated with countries allied in the war on Iran.
Tanker tracking, for example, showed a tanker named “Pushbak” sailing under the flag of the “Cook Islands,” loaded with asphalt, which left the port of Umm Qasr 4 days ago and crossed the Strait of Hormuz heading towards the port of Fujairah in the UAE. There are also many oil tankers that loaded from Iraqi ports and sailed.
Reports also revealed that Iraq’s oil production has been reduced by about 1.5 million barrels per day as a result of oil storage facilities being full at loading and export platforms. In general, even with the possibility of exporting oil to Asian countries and not being targeted by the Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz, many foreign oil companies operating in Basra have begun to leave the fields and Iraq after being targeted by drones and threatened internally as being “part of the American economy,” as some parties and factions believe.
burathanews.com
