Data released by international tanker tracking services show that Iran’s oil exports were at record highs in May despite US President Donald Trump’s continued efforts to impose sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil.

Figures by Kpler, a major energy analytics firm, cited in a Sunday report by Fars news agency showed that Iran had exported nearly 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in May, on par with figures seen in September last year and one of the highest reported since Trump toughened his sanctions on Iran during his first term in office in 2019.

Vortexa, another major ship tracking firm, has also released figures in July showing that Iran has been shipping an average of 1.8 million bpd of oil in certain weeks in the past few months, Fars said.

The figures are the latest sign that Trump has failed in his efforts to cut Iranian oil exports to zero.

The US president signed an executive order in early February to restore his so-called maximum pressure campaign on Iran. The order has enabled the US Treasury Department to announce 12 rounds of sanctions on entities allegedly linked to the Iranian oil export business.

For the first time, Trump’s sanctions have targeted companies and refineries in China, the country that is by far the largest buyer of Iranian oil through its private refineries.

However, Trump said last month after he ordered airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities that China’s government can officially buy oil from Iran, a statement which some experts viewed as an admission that his sanctions have failed to affect Iranian oil supplies.

The report by Fars also cited figures from OilPrice.com showing that Iran had even increased its oil exports by nearly 44% in late June when the country was defending itself against a war of aggression by the Israeli regime.

MNA/