IEA Says Biden Sanctions May Have Cut Iran Exports

February 21, 2025

The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) says new sanctions the Biden Administration imposed on Iranian tankers in December may have cut into Iranian crude exports even before Donald Trump took office. The IEA is a grouping of oil importing countries formed decades ago to watch oil markets and seek practices that would prevent a repeat of the OPEC boycotts of the 1970s.

In its January monthly report, the IAE said, “On 19 December, the US expanded sanctions on vessels transporting Iranian crude. The new sanctions on Iran’s shadow fleet now cover vessels that transported an average of over 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian crude in 2024, nearly one-third of the country’s crude exports.

 “While it is too early to fully quantify the potential impact from these new measures, some operators have reportedly already started to pull back from Iranian and Russian oil.” The IEA also said, “There is heightened speculation that the incoming US administration will take a tougher stance on Iran’s oil exports, compounding the impact of US Treasury sanctions on Tehran.