On the other hand, the Iranians now have to try and sell the oil to other buyers, and that will present a few problems.
Not all Asian refiners can process their heavier grades, and some that can, such as Japan, won't buy because of the U.S. pressure.
That leaves China as the default buyer, with perhaps some of the slack being sent to Singapore, whose refiners can process around 1.5 million barrels a day.
But the Chinese have shown they are price-sensitive, and if they know there is a certain level of distress in Iran, they are likely to push for big discounts when buying crude.
Of course, the Iranians could put some of their output into floating storage in the hope a tighter market drives prices higher, but given their budget is weighed down by subsidy payments and the economy is still dealing with inflation above 10 percent, they are likely to be seeking immediate cash.
And the Chinese may well be happy too, buying Iranian crude at discounts.
Already they have been taking more from Iran, with June imports around 650,000 barrels a day, a jump of 53 percent from May, while year-to-date imports are up 49 percent.
