LONDON, June 5: Western sanctions drove Iran’s crude exports to the lowest in decades in May, according to industry sources and tanker-tracking data, even before Washington toughens measures aimed at squeezing oil sales further.

Crude shipments dropped to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) last month, the data from sources showed, about a third of Iran’s oil exports before the current round of sanctions.

The US and European sanctions aimed at pressuring Tehran over its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons have already more than halved Iran’s shipments — costing Iran billions of dollars in revenue since the start of 2012. And Washington is now seeking to cut shipments to less than 500,000 bpd through tighter sanctions.

Purchases by major Asian customers last month were about 12 per cent down on April, industry sources said. Sales in April had already taken a hit after Japan, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, almost stopped Iranian imports entirely.

Before the latest sanctions, Tehran sold about 2.2m bpd of crude mainly to Asia, Europe and Africa.—Reuters