Large Oil Discounts By Iran Entice Buyers To Ignore US Sanctions

The Iranian government’s official newspaper has said that Iran sells its oil so cheap that the risk of circumventing US sanctions is worth taking for buyers.

The Iran Daily wrote that the Islamic Republic is selling its oil at such low prices that it is worth for foreign buyers to circumvent US sanctions, which carry third-party penalties for established companies.
The article said that the discounts offered are so enticing that crude oil exports have been increasing.
It said that oil sales to China in November increased by about 40 percent compared with the figure for October, reaching about 18 million barrels, equivalent to about 600,000 barrels a day.

Bloomberg reported that China allowed small "teapot" refineris to import more oil in October for 2021 and they rushed to buy more Iranian supplies. But this is a temporary change that might not last long.
However, according to Kpler, a provider of data and analytics for commodity markets, that said official Chinese data indicate China hasn’t taken any Iranian oil since December 2020. The report said supplies have often been re-branded as originating from Oman and Malaysia.

Iran's illicit oil exports go through middlemen who also take a large commission to arrange forged documentation hiding the real point of origin.