Iran has substantially increased the volume of its clandestine oil exports in 2021, without making much profit, as midllemen who seel the oil and import goods take hefty profits.
While Iran has exported more oil in 2021, it has received less revenues in hard currency. The secret lies in the role of middlemen, who make huge profits from illicit exports.
Iran's oil minister has claimed that Iran is not owed any money for oil exports during US sanctions, but it does not mean it collected cash from importers.
Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh has claimed that in recent weeks Iran's oil exports has reached close to 900,000 barels a day and revenues have jumped.