Iran’s oil export revenues have come under unprecedented pressure as the country faces a severe economic crisis marked by a complete halt in oil loadings for the month of September and mounting unpaid debts owed to the government by key intermediaries. Recent developments indicate that the government is increasingly reliant on domestic tax revenues amid escalating inflation, currency devaluation, and rising unemployment.
Data from Kpler, a commodities analytics firm, showed that Iran’s oil loadings dropped to zero in September 2026, the first time since the 1979 revolution. This follows a sharp decline from 255,000 barrels per day in August, compared to the typical 1.7 million barrels per day before renewed U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade imposed in mid-July. The blockade has effectively prevented any laden tankers from exiting Iran’s territorial waters, severely disrupting oil exports.
The situation has been compounded by the abrupt resignation of Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad last week, which the government attributed to personal reasons. Analysts and internal documents, however, suggest that Paknejad’s departure is linked to efforts to restructure and protect the country’s oil sales network amid tightening sanctions. Reports indicate a shift in the transfer of oil sale proceeds from the United Arab Emirates to Russia, with the involvement of new intermediaries connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Since 2012, Iran has circumvented international sanctions by delegating oil sales to a shrinking network of trusted intermediaries, known as “trustees,” who sell the crude oil independently before remitting proceeds to the Iranian treasury. This network once comprised over 50 entities but has narrowed to just four intermediaries during Paknejad’s tenure, including prominent figures such as Hossein Shamkhani, son of Defence Council secretary Ali Shamkhani, and Ruhollah Razavi, son-in-law of Paydari Front spokesman Majid Motaghfiar. The other two known intermediaries are Mohammad Hadi Momenin and Ali Bayandarian, whose locations remain unclear.
New documents indicate that the network is undergoing further consolidation, with two additional intermediaries tied to senior IRGC officials taking over responsibilities, reducing the number to two. This restructuring aims to sustain Iran’s embattled $68 billion oil trade under intensifying sanctions.
Despite these efforts, Iran faces significant challenges in recouping oil revenues. Authorities have revealed that trusted intermediaries collectively owe the government billions of U.S. dollars in outstanding payments. Records show allocations of 85 million barrels of oil on credit at discounted rates to these trustees, despite previous unsettled debts totaling several hundred million dollars. The nonpayment of these proceeds has further strained state finances.
Previous legal cases also highlight the instability of Iran’s oil revenue system. In one instance, a first-generation trustee and his son were successfully sued in Canada over a $96 million debt related to withheld oil revenues. Subsequent generations of intermediaries now reportedly owe billions more, with some believed to be residing abroad.
The collapse in oil export revenues intensifies pressures on Iran’s economy, which has been grappling with inflation rates approaching 300 percent, currency depreciation, and widespread unemployment amid ongoing domestic unrest. Experts warn that the loss of oil income, combined with large unpaid debts and a reliance on taxed income from a financially burdened population, threaten the sustainability of the government’s economic framework amid sustained international sanctions.