Iran bypasses Trump’s ‘wall of steel’ – media Three Iranian oil tankers have bypassed what US President Donald Trump has called a naval “wall of steel” in the Strait of Hormuz and reached Iranian ports through Pakistani waters over the past two days, Tehran’s IRNA state news agency reported on Friday, citing maritime tracking data. Washington imposed a naval blockade on Iran last month to choke off the country’s oil trade and pressure Tehran into agreeing to a deal on its nuclear program. Iran operates ports outside the Strait of Hormuz choke point, including Chabahar and Jask near the Pakistani border, allowing ships to reach Iranian territory via the Gulf of Oman without entering the narrow transit corridor where US naval patrols are concentrated. According to IRNA, the empty vessels belonging to Iranian state-owned oil firm, NIOC, transited through Pakistan’s exclusive economic zone before arriving at Iranian ports. Citing the TankerTrackers platform, the agency said the tankers’ combined capacity is about 5 million barrels of crude oil. According to the Washington Post, a confidential US intelligence assessment concluded Iran can survive the blockade for at least three to four months before facing more severe economic hardship. While the blockade has severely disrupted the country’s crude exports, Tehran has reportedly been using tankers as floating storage, while reducing output in order to preserve infrastructure. Iran’s economic situation is “nowhere near as dire as some have claimed,” one source told the WaPo. Analysts estimate that Iran currently has access to about 65-75 million barrels of floating storage capacity, equivalent to roughly 36-42 days of its prewar crude exports. Pakistan has also opened multiple overland transit routes connecting its ports and border crossings to Iran, allowing trade flows to continue. While Trump has repeatedly defended the blockade’s effectiveness, claiming earlier this week that Iran’s economy was “crashing” and describing the measure as “a wall of steel” through which “nobody goes through,” officials in Tehran have insisted the country can withstand prolonged economic pressure and continue operating despite the blockade.
Iran bypasses Trump’s ‘wall of steel’ – media Three Iranian oil tankers have bypassed what US President Donald Trump has called a naval “wall of steel” in the Strait of Hormuz and reached Iranian ports through Pakistani waters over the past two days, Tehran’s IRNA state news agen…
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Anadolu reports that shipping traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has decreased by 88% in the past 24 hours, dropping from an average of 33 daily transits to only four vessels, according to IMF PortWatch data. This reduction follows reports that Houthi forces have advanced to key coastal locations, including Mokha and Mayun Island, coinciding with a 91% decline in oil and chemical tanker passage.
Satellite imagery shows extensive damage to a key Saudi Arabian oil pipeline, a development that has reportedly disrupted operations. The assessment is based on a machine-translated headline from an Arabic-language source, so the specific extent of the impact remains unverified.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that 93,864 people have been newly displaced in Yemen following recent clashes between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi militias, while the UNHCR noted that hostilities along the western coast have prompted some individuals to cross into Djibouti.
These developments have raised concerns regarding the safety of humanitarian and commercial shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as nearly half of Yemen’s population reportedly requires assistance amid growing food insecurity.
The Japanese Shipowners' Association reportedly estimates that Saudi oil deliveries to Asia could take approximately 100 days round trip if the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is closed, a significant increase from the current 40-day route via the Strait of Hormuz.
This potential disruption, which Asashi notes would raise transportation costs, is described in the source material as following the current blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, an event the article attributes to a US-Iran conflict ongoing since February 28.