Why Iran Isn’t Blinking Yet
The U.S. has imposed a semi-porous blockade on Iranian shipping in an effort to force Iran to shut down oil production due to lack of storage, hoping to inflict severe economic damage. Iran, however, has faced similar sanctions before and has not suffered lasting harm to its oil infrastructure, allowing it to resist U.S. pressure. Despite reduced exports, Iran continues to export some oil and is using floating and onshore storage to delay production cuts, while global oil prices rise.
- ▪The U.S. blockade aims to force Iran to shut down oil wells by limiting its ability to store crude oil.
- ▪Iran has used old tankers and onshore facilities to store oil and has continued some exports despite the blockade.
- ▪Previous U.S. sanctions under both Obama and Trump led to production shutdowns but did not cause lasting damage to Iran’s oil fields.
- ▪U.S. allies in the Gulf are also experiencing large-scale production shutdowns, reducing the relative impact on Iran.
- ▪Global oil prices have risen above $111 per barrel, partially offsetting revenue losses for Iran and reducing pressure to concede.
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Analysis Why Iran Isn’t Blinking Yet Trump’s blockade aims to force damaging shutdowns at Iranian oil fields. But Tehran has been through this before. By Keith Johnson, a staff writer at Foreign Policy covering geoeconomics and energy. A Greek-flagged crude oil tanker seen off the coast of the Syrian Baniyas port refinery, along the Mediterranean Sea. A Greek-flagged crude oil tanker seen off the coast of the Syrian Baniyas port refinery, along the Mediterranean Sea on April 15. Bakr ALkasem / AFP Get audio access with any FP subscription. Subscribe Now ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN April 28, 2026, 1:40 PM Iran War Analysis and news. In a way, the impasse between the United States and Iran over the still-closed Strait of Hormuz boils down to storage.
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