Iran’s Illegal Oil Sales Skyrocket to Nearly $200 Billion Under Biden-Harris Administration

Iran’s illegal oil sales have surged to nearly $200 billion under the Biden-Harris administration, providing the regime with a windfall of cash that it has funneled into supporting terrorism throughout the Middle East. A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlights how the lax enforcement of sanctions has allowed Iran to massively expand its oil revenues over the past three years.

The EIA report reveals that Iran made $144 billion in oil sales during the administration's tenure, dwarfing the $16 billion the regime earned in President Trump’s final year in office. Iran’s oil revenues more than doubled in 2021, reaching $37 billion, and continued to soar with $53 billion in profits each year in 2022 and 2023. So far in 2024, Iran has already raked in $34 billion, bringing its total to at least $178 billion during Biden’s presidency.

The report warns that the true figures could be even higher due to the covert methods Iran uses to skirt U.S. sanctions. Iran frequently employs obfuscation techniques like turning off ship identification signals, conducting ship-to-ship transfers, and relabeling cargoes to disguise its oil exports as originating from other countries. These tactics make it difficult to track precise export data.

• Claire Jungman, director of United Against a Nuclear Iran’s (UANI) Tanker Tracking Program, urged the administration to enforce sanctions more aggressively on vessels transporting Iranian oil, calling the current situation a “catalyst” for action.

• The report notes that Iran’s tactics, including the use of smaller vessels and relabeling oil cargo, have made it increasingly difficult to detect and enforce sanctions effectively.

• In addition to the illicit oil revenues, the administration has unfrozen $16 billion in funds for Iran to access, further enriching the regime. This includes $10 billion in electricity revenues and $6 billion in frozen oil revenues.

The massive cash flow into Iran has sparked growing concerns that the regime is using these funds to finance its terrorist proxies across the region, including Hezbollah and Hamas. Critics argue that the administration’s failure to enforce sanctions has emboldened Iran, allowing it to bankroll extremist groups and escalate tensions throughout the Middle East.

This surge in illegal oil profits comes at a time when inflation and rising gas prices are already crippling American households, and it highlights the dangerous implications of the Biden-Harris administration's foreign policy missteps. Under Trump, U.S. sanctions effectively squeezed Iran’s economy, drastically reducing its oil revenues. But under Biden, Iran’s rogue oil sales have skyrocketed, and the regime now has billions more to fund its destabilizing activities.

As Iran continues to outmaneuver U.S. sanctions, calls for a more robust response are growing. Enforcement of existing sanctions is essential not only to curtail Iran’s growing influence but also to prevent further damage to U.S. national security and global stability.

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