The United States said Iran's crude oil production system is nearing its limit and raised the possibility that well operations could be halted as early as next week. With storage facilities rapidly reaching capacity, there is an assessment that the broader oil infrastructure, weakened by long-term sanctions, is shaking.
Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury Secretary, said in a Fox News interview on the 3rd (local time), "If we have run a marathon over the past 12 months, we are now in the phase of sprinting toward the finish line," and added, "Iran is in a situation where it cannot even pay soldiers' salaries." He characterized the current measures as a "de facto economic blockade."
Minister Bessent also said, "Iran's crude oil storage facilities are rapidly approaching saturation," adding, "As early as next week, it may have to halt well operations." He continued, "Due to long-term sanctions, maintenance of infrastructure has not been carried out properly, and facilities across the board are showing their limits."
He also said, "We are tightening pressure on the channels through which funds flow to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)." He added that toll fee revenue levied on ships transiting straits is negligible compared with past crude oil export revenue.
Iran has also moved to respond. According to Bloomberg, Iran is said to be preemptively reducing crude oil production in preparation for storage limits.
President Donald Trump said the day before that Iran's new proposal for talks was "not sufficient," hinting at the possibility of additional pressure. The United States is setting the suspension of the nuclear program as a condition for negotiations, but Iran denies allegations of developing nuclear weapons.