The United States on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based teapot refinery.
This is coming as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to ramp up pressure on Iranian government.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department said that the action would increase pressure on Chinese importers of Iranian oil as Trump seeks to restore his maximum pressure campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero.
This is coming as the Trump's administration has relaunched negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme this month, with talks in Oman last weekend and a second round expected in Rome this weekend.
According to the Treasury on Wednesday, it imposed sanctions on a China-based independent teapot refinery it accused of playing a role in purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian crude oil.
The US also slapped additional sanctions on several companies and vessels it said were responsible for facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China as part of Iran's shadow fleet.
At the time of filing this report, Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and China's embassy in Washington have not commented on the development.
China and Iran are said to have built a trading system that uses mostly Chinese yuan and a network of middlemen, avoiding the dollar and exposure to U.S. regulators.
“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,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Also on Wednesday, the Treasury updated guidance for shipping and maritime stakeholders on detecting and mitigating Iranian oil sanctions evasion, warning among other things, that Iran depends on a vast shadow fleet to disguise oil shipments.
