How China Keeps Iran's Oil Industry Afloat

About this episode

The episode explores how Iran's oil industry continues to thrive despite U.S. sanctions, focusing on its shipping network to China.

Get your tickets to our L.A. live show here!In the first Trump administration, the U.S. launched a “maximum pressure” campaign to cut Iranian oil from the global market and eliminate Tehran’s biggest source of revenue. Today, Iran sells billions of dollars’ worth of oil every month via a shadow fleet of ships that have been passing through the Strait of Hormuz. WSJ’s Rory Jones takes us inside Iran’s underground network for shipping, processing and selling oil in China. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - How Iran's Regime Changed... for the Worse - The Strait of Hormuz Showdown - In Iran, an Uneasy Calm Amid a Cease-Fire Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Ryan Knutson

Guest: Rory Jones

Topics covered

• Iran oil industry
• China
• U.S. sanctions
• shadow fleet
• global market
• shipping network

Keywords

• Iran
• oil
• China
• sanctions
• shipping
• Strait of Hormuz
• shadow fleet

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Wall Street Journal, Spotify Studios

Places: Iran, China, Strait of Hormuz

More episodes of The Journal.

• Is SpaceX Worth the Hype? · June 11, 2026 · 23 min
• How Beef Got So Expensive · June 10, 2026 · 21 min
• Bill Gates’s Carefully Crafted Image Is Cracking · June 9, 2026 · 24 min
• Why Sweden Embraced Capitalism · June 8, 2026 · 20 min
• The World Cup Story, Part 1: Soccer and Scandal · June 7, 2026 · 39 min
• Americans Have More Credit Card Debt Than Ever · June 5, 2026 · 21 min