Iran juggles oil cuts and storage strain to resist U.S. blockade

As the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz tightens around Iran’s oil trade, exports have plunged in recent weeks and storage is rapidly filling. Already, the country has begun curbing production, according to a senior Iranian official. 

But there’s a crucial caveat Washington may be underestimating: Tehran has decades of experience preparing for versions of this exact scenario.

The war in the Middle East is entering a stalemate, with both sides waiting for the other to relent. By targeting the Islamic Republic’s most vital source of revenue, President Donald Trump is seeking to force an end to a conflict that has reshaped geopolitics and global energy markets.

Yet Iran has shown some resilience in weathering the blockade so far, drawing on a time-tested playbook to prolong the standoff and raise costs for Washington by pushing up oil prices, which reached a four-year high this week. 

Tehran is proactively reducing crude output in a move to stay ahead of capacity limits rather than waiting for tanks to fill completely, according to the senior official, who asked not to be identified because the information is...