According to the Wall Street Journal, since July, dozens of Iranian or Iranian-linked oil tankers have been stranded in waters near Asian countries such as Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Sri Lankan government documents and companies supplying these vessels show that in recent weeks, US officials have again pressured Sri Lanka to prevent local ships from supplying these tankers and their crews. Before the war, ships carrying Iranian oil would transport crude to international waters near Malaysia, where it would be transferred to other tankers to circumvent US sanctions on Iranian oil. These tankers would then return to Iran, load more oil, and repeat the process. Now, the US blockade has severely damaged this trade. Iranian ships are unable to return home. Oil analysts predict that the last shipment of Iranian oil awaiting delivery to buyers will run out in the coming weeks, and payments to Iran will be settled by the end of the year.
