US Central Command Chief Admiral Brad Cooper Says Blockade Has Halted $25 Billion of Iranian Crude Exports

Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), announced on 16 October that the US naval blockade has halted Iran's $25 billion in crude oil exports. He said this has significantly affected the finances of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and disrupted salary payments to Iran's regional proxies.

An 18 October report cited CENTCOM as saying that 138 ships had been diverted under the blockade. Earlier in the blockade, analysts at the shipping publication Lloyd's List counted at least seven Iran-linked vessels that managed to pass through the strait and the wider blockade after 13 April, even though the US military said none had gotten through its net.

Iran has denied that the blockade is working in the way Washington describes. Tehran says its restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz will stay in place for as long as the American blockade of its ports continues, tying the two measures together. As of 28 October, the UKMTO advisory confirms the blockade is still being enforced.

Figures such as the $25 billion total come from US military statements and have not been independently audited in the sources reviewed for this article.