A UAE naval vessel sails next to a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026.
Altaf Qadri | AP
President Massoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s trade is plummeting under US sanctions and naval blockade as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged him to reduce dependence on the US dollar.
“Our country has decreased by 25% to 35%. Our exports have decreased, but our imports have decreased even more,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview with state television late Friday, according to a Google translation of the Tasnim News transcript. “The rate of decline in exports is slightly less than the rate of decrease in imports, and imports have decreased significantly.”
“What do these statistics mean? So some people say sanctions are completely ineffective! I really don’t know what to tell these people,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying. “What I am saying is that it is inconsistent with these facts to say that sanctions have no effect.”
Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called for greater economic independence in a written message on Friday.
“Equally important is paying special attention to economic growth, expanding production, phasing out the important role of the US dollar, and ultimately making resistance economics a central focus,” Mojtaba Khamenei said in a post on X late Friday.
Campaign to tighten sanctions begins
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday launched Operation Economic Exile, a sanctions campaign aimed at severing all economic ties with Iran around the world.
In one of its first moves, the Treasury Department on Friday proposed cutting off Egyptian bank Banque Misr’s UAE operations from correspondent banking access to U.S. financial institutions over its alleged financial ties to Iran.
The ministry said in a statement that it has proposed revoking Misr UAE Bank’s correspondent banking access to U.S. financial institutions.
According to the Ministry of Finance, Misr UAE Bank has processed approximately $1.8 billion over the past two years to 103 companies that may be part of Iran’s shadow banking network.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at a press conference in Washington, DC, August 24, 2026.
Kent Nishimura | AFP | Getty Images
The bank said in a statement on Saturday that it was cooperating with the relevant authorities, adding that the regulatory action would be limited to its UAE branches that continue to serve customers.
Iranian crude oil exports have fallen sharply as the United States ramps up economic pressure on Tehran through sanctions and a naval blockade.
Iranian crude oil loaded for export plummeted in August, according to data shared Thursday by trade information firm Kpler. The United States is increasingly emphasizing economic pressure through sanctions and a naval blockade to force Tehran into an agreement to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has loaded about 260,000 barrels per day into the port for export so far this month, a drop of more than 80% from the 1.7 million barrels per day in August 2025, Kpler reported.
President Donald Trump reimposed the blockade on July 14 in retaliation for Iran’s attack on an oil tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran’s crude oil loadings in August were down about 70% from last month’s 893,000 barrels per day.
Iran’s oil reserves
U.S. Central Command said Saturday that as of Aug. 28, the force had “redirected 82 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two to ensure compliance.”
Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy, said the Trump administration believes Iran will eventually run out of money and be forced to surrender.
Matt Smith, Kpler’s director of commodity research, said the lockdown was “very effective.” That is “putting pressure on Iran’s oil exports,” he said. The crude oil that Tehran is able to load into tankers probably won’t be able to break through the blockade, Smith added.
However, Iran’s oil ministry said it had enough oil reserves for sale to meet budget requirements for 2026-2027 while avoiding a naval blockade, according to a post on Telegram translated by Google.
It said it had transferred $7.5 billion in revenue from oil sales to the country’s central bank over four months, enough to cover foreign exchange spending until early January 2027.
Friday marks six months since the United States and Israel launched a “major combat operation” in Iran, prompting retaliatory strikes on targets across the Gulf and sparking a new war in the Middle East.
The conflict, which was initially expected to last several weeks, has turned into a confrontation that geopolitical analysts say has no end in sight.
Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain unresolved, and the conflict has dragged on for six months, contrary to initial expectations that major fighting would last only a few weeks.
