The Blockade Has Done What Sanctions Could Not
For years, Washington proclaimed that sanctions would shut down Iranian oil exports. They never did. Iran adapted because markets ALWAYS adapt. Tehran assembled a shadow fleet, tankers switched off transponders, cargoes changed identities, oil moved ship to ship, and payments bypassed Western bankin
Source: Armstrong Economics
―
DW NOTE
Washington spent a decade insisting sanctions would strangle Iranian oil exports. They failed because states with physical commodities always find buyers when the price is right. The Strait blockade succeeded in four months by doing what sanctions cannot: removing the physical route itself. Markets adapt to regulatory barriers; they cannot adapt around closed waterways. Iran's shadow fleet means nothing when the choke point is shut.