Kpler reports lower Hormuz exports than Trump claims, says Iran still at zero sales

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 70 million barrels of oil have been exported through the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of May, a leading data analytics firm said Thursday, presenting a notably lower figure than what US President Donald Trump announced while underscoring Iran’s sustained inability to sell oil.

“We have checked the numbers. We do not have the same [figures] as President Trump,” Homayoun Falakshahi, head of Crude Cil Analysis at Kpler, told Rudaw in an interview.

He confirmed that their screening has logged 72 million barrels passing through the strategic waterway over the past forty days.

“None of this is Iranian oil, because as you know, the blockade is on Iran,” Falakshahi said, adding that most of the exports came from Emirati ports - as well as from Iraq, Kuwait, and Qatar - and sailed to Asia.

His statement came as Trump said on Wednesday that he instructed the US military last month to carry out a “secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market,” he wrote on Truth Social. 

President Trump reiterated that more than 200 commercial ships have “safely traveled” through the strait, stressing that the US “CONTROLS” the waterway “NOT” Iran.

“Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran,” he concluded. 

The US and Iran have engaged in tit-for-tat maritime restrictions in and around the Strait of Hormuz since February 28, when the US and Israel launched a military campaign against Tehran, sparking a regional confrontation that lasted nearly six weeks before the hostile countries agreed to a ceasefire on April 8.

The maritime restrictions have persisted after the ceasefire, with the US military imposing a blockade on vessels leaving and entering Iranian ports. 

Around 130 Iranian ships have been redirected, and six others were disabled, according to a statement last week from the US Central Command (CENTCOM).
In late April, Kpler told Rudaw that the US blockade could plummet Iranian oil revenues to zero within two months as it has bottlenecked the country’s reserves and paralyzed its ability to sell oil to its traditional buyers in Asia. 

As of Thursday, the region has continued to experience fluctuating tensions, with the US and Iran exchanging fresh strikes earlier in the day.