According to Western officials, security department sources, and insiders in Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) has strengthened its control over the country's oil industry, overseeing up to half of oil exports. These exports generate most of Iran's revenue and fund its proxies in the Middle East.
According to a dozen informed sources interviewed by Reuters, every aspect of the oil business—from shadow tankers secretly transporting sanctioned crude oil to logistics and sales—has been increasingly influenced by the Revolutionary Guard.
The extent of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard's control over oil exports has not been reported. Despite Trump's reimposition of severe Western sanctions aimed at crippling Iran's energy sector in 2018, Iran still earns over $50 billion annually from oil, which is its largest source of foreign exchange and main link to the global economy.
Six experts—including Western officials, security experts, and Iranian trade sources—indicated that the Revolutionary Guard controls up to 50% of Iran's oil exports, a significant increase from about 20% three years ago. Due to the sensitivity of the issue, these sources refused to be named. Estimates from three of these sources are based on intelligence documents regarding Iranian shipping, while other estimates come from monitoring the shipping activities of tankers and companies associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The growing dominance of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the oil industry has increased its influence across all sectors of the Iranian economy, making Western sanctions harder to enforce, given that Washington has designated the Guard as a terrorist organization. However, Trump's return to the White House next January may mean stricter enforcement of sanctions on Iran's oil industry. Iran's oil minister stated that Iran is formulating measures to respond to any restrictions but did not provide specific details.
Four sources stated that as part of its expansion in the industry, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard also controls national entities, such as the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and its oil trading subsidiary NICO.
Former U.S. State Department Iran envoy Richard Nephew added that a few years ago, when sanctions were hitting Iran's oil exports, the personnel operating NIOC and the entire industry focused on oil business rather than evading sanctions. 'Revolutionary Guard members are very good at smuggling but poor at oilfield management, so they began to take greater control of oil exports.'
The article is forwarded from: Jin Shi Data