Iranian oil production, the backbone of the Islamic republic’s economy, fell by 12 percent in the first three months of the year and is likely to fall even more, as sanctions make it increasingly hard for the country to find markets for its crude, The New York Times reported Friday, May 18. The decline, documented in a May report by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is accelerating so fast that if current trends continue, Iran could lose its position as the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC to Iraq by June 2013. Reluctant to slash production, which can do permanent harm to the oil fields, Iranian officials are storing the excess in a growing armada of supertankers that are anchored in the vicinity of the country’s main oil terminals in the Persian Gulf.