Iran’s oil tankers are reportedly disguising their location to appear like they’re Iraqi vessels to bypass President Donald Trump’s blockade.
They’re doing what Windward, a leading maritime AI company, calls AIS spoofing.
“AIS spoofing is a form of AIS manipulation in which a vessel deliberately transmits false or misleading automatic identification system (AIS) data to conceal its true identity, location, or behavior,” according to Windward. “Rather than simply turning AIS off, spoofing allows vessels to appear compliant while masking illicit activity.”
“This manipulation can involve falsifying a vessel’s position, broadcasting another ship’s identity, transmitting implausible routes, or fabricating entire voyage histories. As a result, AIS spoofing undermines maritime surveillance, weakens enforcement, and distorts the operational picture relied on by governments, commercial operators, and insurers,” the report continues.
These days, the strategy is used in “sanctions evasion, smuggling, gray-zone operations, and dark fleet activity.”
Below is one example of how this works:
AIS spoofing leaves a digital trail. Satellite imagery shows the real story.
Public reporting this week shows how the oil tanker Skipper broadcast a false position near Guyana while Planet imagery placed it at the José Terminal in Venezuela.
This is a clear example of why… pic.twitter.com/fqsAVJU0hF
— Planet (@planet) December 13, 2025
According to Windward, Iran has used this strategy to “actively” spoof the locations of 10 sanctioned tankers to make it appear the tankers are anchored off somewhere near Iraq.
“Tankers manipulate AIS signals and transmit false voyage data indicating Iraqi destinations, often supported by fake ownership messages,” Windward notes.
But what really happens is that “these vessels divert to Iranian ports to load sanctioned crude, while AIS data shows them arriving at Iraq and later departing laden, creating the appearance of compliant trade.”
The tankers collectively hold about $800 million worth of oil.
This is all happening as gas/oil prices continue skyrocketing and President Donald Trump doubles down on the blockade. The president told Axios on Wednesday that he intends to maintain the blockade until Iran agrees to give up its nuclear program.
“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
“They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he added.
Sanctioned tankers are now spoofing Iraqi AIS positions to load Iranian crude under the US blockade.
AIS spoofing isn’t new. The scale is. Tehran’s only working revenue lever is moving oil, and the gray fleet just professionalized.
Sanctions work on price spreads, not on flags.
— Derrick Dao (@derrick_dao) April 30, 2026
Meanwhile, according to the Wall Street Journal, the president has told his aides to prepare for an extended blockade on the grounds that walking away from his ultimatum would carry far more risk for the world than just maintaining the blockade.
The president believes Iran is in a “state of collapse” because of the blockade.
“Iran has just informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse,'” he wrote on Truth Social this Tuesday. “They want us to ‘Open the Hormuz Strait,’ as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation (Which I believe they will be able to do!). Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Everything now comes down to Iran’s ability (or the lack thereof) to survive the blockade for as long as possible.
“Iran is calculating that its ability to withstand and circumvent the blockade outstrips the U.S. interest in preventing a wider energy crisis and potentially a global recession,” Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings Institution told the Journal. “A regime that slaughtered its own citizens to silence protests in January is fully prepared to impose economic hardships on them now.”
And hardships are exactly what the Iranian people are experiencing.
While Iran’s economy was always in a bad place, millions of Iranians now “face job losses and poverty” because of the blockade and ongoing war, according to CNN.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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