Iran’s oil exports surged to $150M+ per shipment as its Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) tightens control over smuggling routes and shipping logistics. Despite U.S.-Israeli strikes, Tehran’s decentralized oil network—backed by shadow banks and Chinese buyers—has maintained daily crude sales of 2.4M-2.8M barrels, matching pre-war levels. China’s “teapot” refineries, numbering 100+ in Shandong, absorb 90% of Iran’s oil, though sanctions pressure has narrowed discounts to $7-12/barrel from $18-24. The IRGC’s grip on Hormuz Strait operations and use of spoofed transponders and forged documents ensures tankers evade detection, while U.S. sanctions waivers for stranded vessels are dismissed as traps.