The Trump administration said that the sanctioned refinery in China’s Shandong province received dozens of shipments of crude oil from Iran worth more than USD 1 billion. Officials also announced that several companies and vessels involved in the shipments were added to the sanctions list.
In a fresh crackdown on Iran’s oil trade, the US Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sweeping sanctions against a Chinese refinery accused of buying more than USD 1 billion worth of Iranian crude. According to officials from the Treasury Department, the proceeds from these transactions are believed to be funnelled into funding Tehran’s government operations and its support for militant groups.
The sanctioned facility, located in China’s Shandong province, allegedly received multiple shipments of Iranian oil — some of which originated from a front company tied to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, as per US officials. In addition to penalising the refinery, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also sanctioned several companies and vessels involved in the illicit oil trade. These actions are part of a broader initiative aimed at disrupting Iran’s “shadow fleet,” a clandestine network used to smuggle oil in defiance of international sanctions, US officials said.
What US Treasury Department said?
“The United States has already penalised dozens of individuals and vessels involved in the shipments. Any refinery, company, or broker that chooses to purchase Iranian oil or facilitate Iran’s oil trade places itself at serious risk. The United States is committed to disrupting all actors providing support to Iran’s oil supply chain, which the regime uses to support its terrorist proxies and partners,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a news release.
Iran is accused of backing militant groups including Yemen’s Houthis, who have launched attacks on international shipping, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. During his confirmation hearing earlier this year, Bessent criticised the Biden administration’s sanctions policies and called for the US to have a more “muscular” sanctions system, including on Iran and Russian entities and oil.
US vows zero tolerance on Iran oil
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Trump is committed to drive Iran’s illicit oil exports, including to China, to zero. “As long as Iran attempts to generate oil revenues to fund its destabilising activities, the United States will hold both Iran and all its partners in sanctions evasion accountable,” Bruce added.
The new sanctions were announced the same day that Iran confirmed that the next round of talks with the US on Tehran’s nuclear program will be held in Rome. Responding to the sanctions announcement, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, said the use of the sanctions “undermines international trade order and rules, disrupts normal economic and trade exchanges, and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals.”
(With inputs from AP)
