A highly confidential leaked document reveals the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC)’s role in directing an international campaign aimed at disrupting the world economy in protest against Israel.
Earlier today, Iranian opposition figure and activist Vahid Beheshti released a confidential letter signed by Brigadier General Majid Kazemi, head of IRGC’s Intelligence Security Organization. Kazemi was responsible for overseeing the IRGC’s operations, suppressing civil society in Iran, wrongfully arresting Iranian dissidents, including dual nationals, and overseeing the regime's brutal crackdown against protests across the country in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022, according US Treasury Department’s OFAC.
The letter from Kazemi, which is dated March 11, 2024 and titled “support and encouragement of Palestinian actions towards the political isolation of the Zionist regime," is addressed to Colonel Mohammad Sajedifar, the deputy of cultural and psychological operations of the IRGC Ground Force, and it states:
“Given the recent developments in the issue of Palestine and the psychological impact of the Al-Aqsa Storm operation on Palestinian communities in European and American countries, it was determined to implement significant support measures for April 15 and other rallies with the aim to achieve political isolation [of Israel].”
Alongside the letter, Beheshti shared the promotional video relating to the April `5 rallies, which Kazemi refers to in his letter adding:
“This video clip is the announcement of a collective movement aimed at disrupting the public order in Europe, USA, Australia and Asia all under the pretext of supporting Palestinians. This is a political movement intended to cause as much chaos and instability as possible, which are the exact goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The regime of the Islamic Republic has on multiple occasions, stated clearly that their goal is to destroy the modern society and build a global Islamic state.”
The video calls on the public to "block logistical hubs to stop the flow of capital worldwide”, to join the rally nicknamed A15, “a global economic blockade, answering the call from Gaza to fight for a liberated Palestine” on 15 April.
Beheshti further states that the rallies in Western countries are organized “directly in line with the mission of the Islamic Republic” and ordered by the IRGC.
In an interview with Iran International earlier Monday, Beheshti emphasized that the IRGC uses brainwashing tactics targeting youth in Western countries to cause chaos with such rallies being an example of these tactics.
Less than a month after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei called for the blockade of oil and food exports to Israel and urged Muslim states to “not cooperate economically with the Zionist regime.”
Following Khamenei’s call, Yemen’s Houthis, a proxy of the IRGC, began targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea with drones and missiles. The attacks have harmed international shipping and forces the US and UK to launch air attacks on Houthi bases.
The April 15 march organizers remain mostly anonymous. However, the video is heavily promoted by far-left groups, including Antifa, on social media. Uploaded to YouTube four days ago by A15 Economic Blockade, it directs viewers to their website, featuring a solidarity agreement among members to resist media, political, police, and “Zionist pressures”. The site emphasizes avoiding police communication or coordination regarding actions or fellow organizers.
Meanwhile, last year, the British police announced that the Islamic Republic regime is exploiting pro-Palestinian protests in Britain, according to the Times.
Oil production increased by only 18,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of the year to 3.188 million barrels per day (mb/d), compared to the last quarter, indicating a mere 0.5% growth in quarterly production, according to OPEC.
The country’s oil production growth has slowed dramatically since last summer.
Due to the sale of tens of millions of barrels from floating storage, Iran's oil exports increased significantly in 1Q24 to 1.5 mb/d, according to estimates by Kpler which provides real-time data on global commodity movements.
After the United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports in 2018, the country's oil exports declined from 2.6 mb/d to 330,000 barrels by late 2019 – leading to the stockpiling of about 110 million barrels of unsold oil on both water and land.
During President Joe Biden’s administration, however, the Islamic Republic was able to increase oil exports to its only customers: China and Syria.
Last year for instance, Iran exported about 1.3 mb/d of crude oil and gas condensate, 48% more than the previous year – of which 95% went to Chinese independent small refineries, called “teapots”.
A senior expert at Kpler told Iran International that the volume reached 1.5 mb/d in January-March 2024.
Kpler’s data indicates a significant increase in Iran’s oil exports during the first half of 2023, followed by a slight decline in the latter half of the year. Export growth then picked up again in the first quarter of 2024, although OPEC data suggested only a marginal increase in production levels.
The significant quarterly increase in exports by 140,000 b/d, despite a production growth of only 18,000 barrels in 1Q24, can be attributed to Iran selling more than 16 million barrels from floating storage during January-March 2024.
The process of oil transferring from Iran to China typically takes about three to four weeks.
According to Kpler’s statistics, Iran's floating oil storage decreased from 26.5 million barrels in early December 2023 to 10 million barrels in early February 2024.
Iran’s floating storage from June 2022 to mid-April 2024 (mb):
Source: Kpler
The statistics show that Iran's floating storage level doubled to 30 million barrels in mid-April, compared to the level in early March.
Although there are no statistics available about Iran’s oil production and export levels in April, the significant increase in floating oil levels indicates that Iran's oil exports likely declined during that month.
Oil revenues
Iran's oil export volume increased by 44% in the last Iranian fiscal year, ending on March 19, despite a 17% decrease in global oil prices. However, the country’s customs statistics indicate that oil export revenues only grew by 8% during this period.
According to Iranian customs data, the total value of oil and oil products (including mazut) exported by Iran amounted to $36 billion in the last fiscal year.
But, considering Iran's export levels of 1.3 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil and gas condensate, along with 0.2 mb/d of mazut, and factoring in global oil prices, Iran's total oil export revenues should have exceeded $44 billion.
This suggests that approximately 19% of Iran's oil revenues were lost due to factors such as expenses related to bypassing US sanctions, including middlemen costs, ship-to-ship operations, and direct discounts offered to Chinese refineries.
Iran offered Chinese “teapots” approximately $13 per barrel in 2023 to maintain its market share, Reuters reported.
Additionally, the head of the Budget and Planning and Auditory Commission of the Iranian parliament stated on April 13 that Iran imported $2 billion worth of gasoline during the last fiscal year to compensate for fuel shortages.
Iran began importing gasoline in March, primarily from Russia and neighboring Southern countries.