Shafaq News- Tehran/ Doha

Iran continues to sell and deliver oil despite the US naval blockade, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told reporters on Thursday, acknowledging that sales had declined while deliveries continue in international waters beyond Iran’s territorial limits.

He declined to disclose operational details, saying the information “could be used by [Iran’s] adversaries.”

Kpler estimates that Iranian crude shipments to China, Tehran’s largest oil buyer, fell to about 534,000 barrels per day in August from 823,000 bpd in July, compared with an average of 1.4 million bpd in 2025.

Earlier today, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had redirected 75 commercial vessels, disabled three, and boarded two during the current enforcement phase of the naval blockade on Iran. Washington has also expanded sanctions targeting Iranian oil revenues, shipping, financial networks, and companies “helping Tehran maintain external trade.”

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani that the US economic blockade would fail and called on Washington to fulfill commitments Tehran says were included in the June ceasefire memorandum, including lifting the blockade and oil sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian assets and ending military operations on all fronts.

Talks between the two sides also focused on a proposed temporary Iran-Oman shipping corridor and a joint mine-clearing project in the Strait of Hormuz, where Kpler data showed 10 visible commodity-vessel transits on Wednesday, below the 10-day moving average of 15.