U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s Kharg Island, which hosts a major oil export terminal, is now empty of crude oil tankers, describing it as a “monument” to the Iranian regime’s failure.
Bessent posted a video on X showing conditions at Iran’s main oil loading terminal before and after the latest developments. “Before: Tankers fill Iran’s main oil loading terminal. After: No crude oil tankers in sight,” he wrote.
He added that “the Iranian regime’s arrogance and aggressive approach continue to punish ordinary Iranians,” noting that the U.S. Treasury Department’s “Economic Outcast” campaign, launched on August 24, 2026, aims to isolate Iran economically and cut off its sources of funding.
According to Bessent, the campaign seeks to sever the Iranian regime’s oil lifeline and deprive it of resources used to finance terrorism, obtain supplies for its nuclear program and maintain the lavish lifestyles of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite.
Washington continues to intensify pressure on Iranian oil exports, amid reports that major loading terminals have remained without tankers for several consecutive weeks, according to an analysis of vessel-tracking data and satellite imagery released by the European Union.
Satellite images showed no crude oil tankers docked at the main export berths on Kharg Island since late August, marking the longest continuous interruption in the island’s shipping operations since the military confrontation between the United States and Iran began in February.
The halt in tanker traffic reflects mounting operational and economic pressure on Tehran following Washington’s tightening of its military blockade of Iranian maritime traffic and shipping nearly three months ago.
The developments coincided with Iranian crude oil exports reportedly falling to zero during the current period, compared with approximately one million barrels per day in July, according to the cited data.
