Iran is both a crude-oil exporter and a net importer of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, because its domestic refining capacity was already insufficient before the war.
Now that refining facilities are being struck, Iran will be able to produce even less refined fuel.
Iran holds fewer than 90 days of petroleum reserves. With production and distribution facilities now under sustained attack and no clear prospect of resupply at prewar prices, the regime faces growing resource constraints.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has effectively halted not just exports but maritime trade in the region, meaning Iran cannot easily import refined products either.
Iran depends on shipments moving through the Strait for gasoline imports, estimated at hundreds of thousands of barrels per day. The U.S. and Israeli strikes are not only creatingshortages inside Iranbut might also convert the country into a net oil importer.
DespiteIran’s membershipin BRICS, there areno visible signsthat any member state is moving to intervene militarily or economically on its behalf.
On day nine of the war, Israel crossed a significant threshold, striking Iran’s oil infrastructure for the first time.
On the night of March 7, the Israeli Air Force hit more than 30 fuel depots and refining facilities in and around Tehran, including the Aghdasieh oil warehouse in northeast Tehran, the Tehran refinery in the south, the Shahran oil depot in the west, and a depot in the city of Karaj in neighboring Alborz Province.
Witnesses reported oil from the Shahran depot leaking into nearby streets. Large fires burned through the night, visible for miles and blanketing the capital in thick black smoke. Residents reported oil-saturated raindrops falling on the city the following morning.
For years, Iran’s power across the Middle East has been built on oil revenue. That money funds the IRGC, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the broader network of proxy forces operating across the region.
Source: The Gateway Pundit
