US blocks over 70 oil tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports
The United States Central Command announced on May 8, 2026, that U.S. forces are preventing more than 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports. The command said the vessels can carry over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion or more. The announcement was made in a post on X.
The United States Central Command announced on May 8, 2026, that U.S. forces are preventing more than 70 oil tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports, in a post on the social media platform X at 14:54 BST.
The command stated that the vessels have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil, with an estimated value of $13 billion or more. "There are currently more than 70 tankers that U.S. forces are preventing from entering or leaving Iranian ports," the post read. "These commercial ships have the capacity to transport over 166 million barrels of Iranian oil worth an estimated $13 billion-plus."
The announcement follows a series of escalating U.S. actions against Iranian oil shipments. On May 1, the Pentagon said the blockade had cost Iran $4.8 billion in oil revenue, and on May 6, U.S. forces attacked an Iran-flagged tanker attempting to breach the naval blockade.