Iran has managed to export limited quantities of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and jet fuel since July despite a US naval blockade, shipping intelligence and maritime security sources have revealed. Tehran has reportedly concealed some cargoes among increasing ship-to-ship transfers by other Gulf producers off Oman, four maritime security officials tracking regional oil movements told Reuters.

The exports, reported for the first time, offer rare evidence of Iranian petroleum products reaching foreign markets. However, the shipments remain a fraction of Iran’s previous energy exports. The blockade has halted the country’s crude oil exports.

Analysis by US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) shows that at least eight gas tankers carrying Iranian LPG have left the Gulf of Oman since mid-July. Separate satellite imagery and analysis by maritime intelligence group SynMax show that another tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel reached Myanmar in September.

The US imposed targeted sanctions on Myanmar’s jet-fuel industry in 2023, citing military airstrikes on civilians. The United Nations says these attacks have killed thousands. Myanmar’s military government has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, stating that its operations target armed groups.

A Reuters analysis found that six of the eight gas tankers and the jet fuel tanker face US sanctions for transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

"What we have seen passing is a handful of tankers carrying Iranian LPG, but the overwhelming majority of tankers laden with Iranian products have been redirected by US forces," said Jemima Shelley, senior research analyst with UANI.

Shelley said some tankers transferred LPG near the Omani coastal towns of Shinas and Sohar. Others waited in the Gulf of Oman before passing the blockade, which US Central Command says operates near the Iran-Pakistan border. UANI estimated the total LPG shipments at 4.1 million barrels.

Shelley described the shipments as driven "more by opportunism" than by a new strategy to export Iranian energy using smaller vessels. Most cargoes travelled to Malaysia's Eastern Outer Port Limits for further ship-to-ship transfers, with China as the likely destination.

The Iranian and Myanmar governments did not respond to requests for comment.

The US military said its blockade, first imposed on Iran-related oil exports on April 13, remains "ironclad". Washington lifted it in June after reaching a draft understanding with Tehran, but reinstated it on July 14 after the agreement collapsed.

A US military official told Reuters that a vessel's passage does not necessarily mean it evaded the blockade. US forces assess each ship individually and may allow some through for humanitarian reasons. The official added that sanctions status alone does not determine whether a vessel faces the blockade.

Centcom reported on October 13 that US forces had disabled four commercial vessels and turned back 135 ships during the preceding three months.

Washington has also expanded sanctions to cut Iran's remaining financial links and revenue. Last week, it sanctioned 17 vessels involved in transporting Iranian crude, petrochemicals and petroleum products.

A US Treasury spokesperson questioned the shipping data, warning that vessels could falsify their locations or identities during loading. Such data "should be taken with a grain of salt", the spokesperson said, adding that Operation Economic Outcast and the blockade were "suffocating the Iranian regime".

Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, said worsening economic conditions could push Tehran to take greater risks. He noted that jet fuel could offer an export opportunity as US sanctions put Iran's aviation industry under growing pressure and leave more aircraft grounded.

Kpler data showed Iranian crude exports fell to zero in September, marking the first month without a shipment since the analytics firm began tracking the country in 2013. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the blockade has prevented most Chinese purchases of Iranian oil and stopped Iran from delivering crude to customers.