Reports indicate that the US blockade of Iranian maritime oil shipments has depleted Iran's floating crude oil reserves in Southeast Asia, built up over many years. This blockade has indeed severed Iran's most important maritime oil buffer, significantly impacting its finances and foreign exchange reserves. However, the depletion of a single floating storage facility does not equate to a complete severance of Iran's oil exports and foreign exchange earnings. Analysts hold significantly differing opinions regarding the long-term effects of the US blockade. According to Kpler energy monitoring data, by mid-October, Iran's millions of barrels of crude oil reserves stored off the coast of Malaysia and Singapore using a shadow fleet had been completely depleted. This floating storage system was a trading network built by Iran to circumvent tracking under years of sanctions: tankers would first transport crude oil to the waters off Southeast Asia, then transfer it via ship-to-ship transshipment to other tankers for delivery to Asian refineries, thus evading US tracking. Two months before the war, Iran had approximately 135 million barrels of crude oil floating overseas; in April, the US imposed a maritime blockade, and Iran continued to deplete its reserves to maintain sales; during a brief easing of the blockade in June, Iran rushed to replenish its reserves, which rose to nearly 90 million barrels at their peak; in mid-July, the blockade was reinstated, and reserves continued to be depleted, leaving less than 1 million barrels by October 5th, before being completely exhausted. Kpler's head of crude oil analysis, Homayoun Falakshahi, pointed out that Iran had no more offshore crude oil to ship to its customers. Data from Emma Lee, an analyst at energy tracking firm Vortexa, also corroborates the sharp decline in inventories. She observed that Asian refiners are turning to Brazilian and West African crude oil as alternatives to Iranian sources. U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper stated that the blockade has cost Iran at least $25 billion in oil revenue, weakening its security system and its ability to rebuild weapons and factories. However, the data itself still has limitations. Charlie Brown, a researcher at the "United Against Nuclear Iran" organization, noted that it is difficult to accurately estimate all of Iran's offshore crude oil reserves; it can only be concluded that floating storage in Southeast Asia has shrunk significantly, and it is impossible to assert that all offshore reserves have reached zero. Analysts also point out that there is a lag of approximately two months in Iranian oil sales payments, and in the coming weeks, Tehran will receive final payments for previous crude oil transactions, resulting in a continued inflow of small amounts of foreign exchange. With a sharp decline in oil foreign exchange reserves, Iran has initiated an alternative export plan . Oil exports contribute 30%-40% of Iran's government revenue and are its core source of foreign exchange. With the depletion of offshore floating storage, the Iranian rial has depreciated by one-third against the US dollar since early July, inflation has continued to rise, and pressure from shortages has increased, a point confirmed by the Tehran Times. Land-based trucking of crude oil and border pipeline exports have become the main alternatives after the closure of sea routes. Iman Nasser, Senior Vice President of FGENexant ECA, assessed that land transport is limited in scale and far from being a substitute for large-scale seaborne exports. Iranian officials, however, offer a completely different assessment. Iranian Central Bank Governor Hemmati publicly stated at the IMF meeting in Bangkok that the Iranian economy has shown good resilience, and the so-called economic collapse is merely an illusion. Iran's Mehr News Agency reported that Iran is activating abandoned land-based oil storage tanks to store crude oil, relying on border ports to transport crude oil and petrochemical products to neighboring countries, while simultaneously expanding non-oil exports, including steel, methanol, asphalt, and agricultural products, to make up for the foreign exchange deficit from crude oil exports. An analysis article in the Arab Rudawa media believes that while the US maritime blockade can cut off large-scale seaborne crude oil shipments, it is difficult to completely shut down the cross-border small-scale trade and barter trade networks between Iran and its neighbors, which can continuously provide basic foreign exchange. While the short-term effects of economic pressure are clear, it's unlikely to force Iran to make concessions on the nuclear issue in the long term . Falakshahi analyzed that the US hopes to use economic pressure to force Iran back to nuclear negotiations, or trigger large-scale protests domestically to force the regime to compromise. However, many Middle East analysts are cautious about this assessment. Iman Nasser warned that Iran has repeatedly demonstrated its economic resilience under decades of sanctions, stating, "We need to observe for another year to see if this resistance economy can withstand the pressure." Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that US economic suppression measures such as maritime blockades would come with corresponding strategic costs, and Iran retains countermeasures. Analysts believe that Iran's "resistance economy," after long-term development, has formed a complex system encompassing domestic production, non-oil exports, border barter, and multi-currency settlements; floating hulls are merely buffer assets, not the entire economic foundation. While a blockade can significantly reduce Iran's fiscal maneuvering space, it's unlikely to achieve the US's predetermined nuclear negotiation goals in the short term. There is also another variable at the energy market level. Despite the disruption to Iranian crude oil exports, US escorts have ensured the stable passage of crude oil from other Middle Eastern oil-producing countries through the Strait of Hormuz. Currently, the volume of non-Iranian crude oil shipped through the strait is already higher than pre-war levels. However, if economic pressures continue to escalate, the stability of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will face greater uncertainty, which will impact global energy prices, affecting not only Iran but also other countries.