Iran Supplies Jet Fuel to Myanmar Disguised as Diesel to Evade Sanctions

Iran has been supplying jet fuel to Myanmar by disguising shipments as diesel purchases from South Africa in a bid to bypass US sanctions, according to an investigation published by Reuters on Monday.

Documents reviewed by the news agency show that the ruling military junta in Myanmar orchestrated the concealment of the fuel's origin and true classification. In December 2025, the US-sanctioned oil tanker Reef arrived in Myanmar carrying roughly 113,000 barrels of fuel valued at $15.8 million. Transaction records indicated that local energy firm Dynamic Wave had ordered diesel from South Africa via the Thai company Tawan-Oil Trading. However, Reuters found that the vessel had actually transported jet fuel loaded from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

According to the investigation, Myanmar's foreign exchange regulator issued a confidential letter days before the tanker's arrival instructing that import documents label the cargo as diesel rather than jet fuel. The letter also authorized payment to the Thai firm through an account at Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank.

Reuters uncovered another transaction from May 2025 involving a purported order of 202,000 barrels of South African diesel worth $26 million. Fuel density data and high pricing figures revealed the shipment was in fact jet fuel. Tanker tracking data and satellite imagery confirmed this delivery also originated in Iran.

The investigation indicates Iran served as the primary supplier of jet fuel to the Myanmar military between October 2024 and December 2025, with shipments continuing into the current year. The United States imposed targeted sanctions on Myanmar's jet fuel industry in 2023 following airstrikes against civilian targets amid the country's civil war. According to the United Nations, thousands of people, including many civilians, have been killed in military air raids since the 2021 coup.