TEHRAN - Ever since the late Iranian President Ebrahiam Raisi took power in August 2021, the country’s oil exports have been on an upward trajectory.

The rise in Iran’s oil exports has taken place despite tough U.S. sanctions which aimed to choke off Iran’s oil industry as a main source of revenue for the Islamic Republic. 

Financial Times cited figures by data company Vortexa last month noting that Iran was exporting more oil than at any time for the past six years, giving its economy a $35bn-a-year boost.

The report said that Tehran sold an average of 1.56mn barrels a day during the first three months of 2024, almost all of it to China and its highest level since the third quarter of 2018.

“The Iranians have mastered the art of sanctions circumvention,” said Fernando Ferreira, head of a geopolitical risk service at the Rapidan Energy Group in the U.S.

Iran’s oil minister Javad Owji said in March that oil exports had “generated more than $35bn” in the preceding year. On another occasion, he said that while Iran’s enemies wanted to stop its exports, “today, we can export oil anywhere we want, and with minimal discounts”.