The Washington Free Beacon yesterday published figures, provided to the outlet by the non-partisan advocacy organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), showing that Iranian oil exports not only spiked in December but approached an annual high, amid expectations from investors and trading partners that sanctions against the Islamic republic will soon be reduced.

Some foreign policy experts worry that the interim nuclear deal reached between Iran and the West has reinvigorated the global markets and created a renewed demand for Tehran’s cheap—and heavily sanctioned—crude oil. China, India, South Korea, Turkey, and Syria are currently the top five importers of Iranian oil, according to UANI’s shipping data.

“Iran’s top economic priority is to regain its previous levels of oil exports,” said UANI spokesman Nathan Carleton. “If export limits are lifted, we could see great increases in profits for the regime.” House noted that Iran would find it easy to maximize its profitable oil exports after the nuclear deal is enacted and sanctions begin to crumble. “Once insurers take advantage of the Geneva agreement and start insuring Iran’s vessels again, the regime will find it much easier to increase profits from its oil exports,” he said.

Figures for October saw Iranian oil sales cratering but by November – amid talk of an interim nuclear agreement – Iranian media was already bragging about double-digit export growth to among other countries South Korea. In early December Iran signaled that it was preparing to reassert its leadership inside OPEC. In early January details emerged of a Chinese-Iranian deal that would see exports boosted to pre-2012 levels. Iran’s oil resurgence will likely deepen concerns in Washington that the Islamic republic is shaking off years of international sanctions designed first to pressure Iranian leaders into negotiating over the country’s nuclear program and, more pointedly, to achieve a change in Iran’s posture toward that program. A bipartisan Senate bill introduced before the holiday recess, which would signal to Iran that more sanctions will be imposed in the future should Tehran refuse to dismantle its nuclear program, this week reportedly secured majority support in the legislative body. The White House has committed to vetoing the bill should it pass Congress.

[Photo: Jean-Pierre Bazard / Wiki Commons]