The Wall Street Journal on Friday conveyed and confirmed figures – first aired a few weeks ago – indicating that Iranian crude oil exports had exceeded for the eighth month in a row restrictions imposed by the Joint Plan of Action (JPA):

Still, Iranian crude exports—excluding condensates—stood at around 1.1 million barrels a day in the past five months, based on IEA data, about 100,000 barrels a day above the level agreed with six world powers in an interim agreement implemented on January 20. The deal allowed Iran to keep its crude exports unchanged and offered some limited sanctions relief in exchange for scaling down its atomic program.

Unless Iran’s sales collapse this month, its six-month average will surpass the cap of 1 million barrels a day.

Reports emerged in early July that Tehran had for the month of June exceeded an energy export cap of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) set in place by the JPA. The Obama administration has categorically denied that Tehran was busting through the caps, with State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf last week denouncing “skeptics” who questioned at the JPA’s implementation whether or not Iran would adhere to the agreement.

The Islamic republic has exceeded the allowed amounts every single month since the JPA was announced in November, but administration officials have categorically insisted that the Tehran’s output would soon crash so precipitously that by the end of the JPA’s six-month enforcement period the total exports would average out to 1 million bpds.

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