Who are Iran’s top trading partners US would need to target to isolate it?

EXPLAINER

The US wants to isolate Iran from the planetary economy. Here is who Tehran trades with, and however overmuch is astatine stake.

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has unveiled a caller question of sanctions connected Iran, branded “Operation Economic Outcast”, designating adjacent to 60 entities, individuals and vessels and widening secondary sanctions to screen shipping, gold, aviation, exertion and integer assets.

He said the purpose was to sever each economical lifeline sustaining the authorities successful Tehran until it stands alone, and that President Donald Trump was telephoning satellite leaders with circumstantial requests to halt their dealings with Iran, though helium named nary countries and acceptable nary deadline.

Below, we interruption down Iran’s apical trading partners utilizing authoritative customs figures compiled by Trade Data Monitor, which exclude the unrecorded flows sustaining overmuch of Iran’s lipid exports.

Iran’s apical export partners

Iran has spent overmuch of the past 2 decades nether Western sanctions, a unit that has pushed its system distant from Europe and towards a narrowing radical of Asian and determination partners.

In 2024, Iran exported immoderate $56bn worthy of goods to astatine slightest 112 countries and territories, according to authoritative customs figures. Its apical export partners were:

1. China ($14.58bn) – The largest purchaser of Iranian oil, taking much than 80 percent of Iran’s seaborne crude exports, according to tanker-tracking analysts. Much of it is discounted and moved by shadow-fleet vessels, hardly registering successful either country’s customs records.
2. Iraq ($11.7bn) – Iran has been a large supplier of state to Iraq for energy generation, and sells energy straight to Iraqi provinces successful the south. It is besides a starring root of nutrient products, gathering materials and manufactured goods.
3. UAE ($7.16bn) – Has agelong been a fiscal and re-export lifeline for Iran, accounting for 13 percent of its exports. Abu Dhabi imposed an indefinite trade embargo past week aft accusing Iran of firing missiles astatine its territory. Tehran denied the allegations.
4. Turkiye ($6.1bn) – Iran has agelong supplied Turkiye with pipeline state via the Tabriz-Ankara Pipeline, on with petrochemicals, nutrient products, and operation materials.
5. Afghanistan ($2.3bn) Iran supplies its landlocked neighbour with fuel, nutrient and operation materials, and Afghanistan depends heavy connected Iranian ports and overland routes to entree wider markets.

Iran’s apical import partners

In 2024, Iran imported immoderate $68.5bn worthy of goods from astatine slightest 87 countries and territories, according to authoritative customs figures. Its apical import partners were:

1. UAE ($21bn) – Supplied conscionable supra 30 percent of Iran’s imports, astir of them re-exported goods alternatively than Emirati production, giving Tehran indirect entree to Western machinery, electronics and user goods. Abu Dhabi’s indefinite commercialized embargo has severed that route.
2. China ($17.8bn) – The main supplier of machinery, electronics, vehicles and concern components, and the spouse Iran has leaned connected astir heavy arsenic Western commercialized has closed off.
3. Turkiye ($11.1bn) – A shared onshore borderline and longstanding commercialized ties marque Turkiye a cardinal overland proviso route, sending machinery, chemicals, vehicles and manufactured goods. Trade successful some directions has fallen since the warfare began.
4. European Union ($6.1bn) – European income are present a fraction of pre-2018 levels, concentrated successful pharmaceuticals, aesculapian instrumentality and machinery.
5. India ($1.6bn) – Trade has fallen sharply successful caller years. New Delhi has kept commercialized links constrictive and weighted towards cultivation goods including rice, beverage and pharmaceuticals.