The US has previously warned banks against dealing with firms allegedly involved in Iran’s oil trade.
China’s Ministry of Commerce has instructed domestic companies not to comply with US sanctions targeting refiners allegedly linked to the Iranian oil trade.
Late last month, the US Treasury warned banks against dealing with so-called “teapot” privately owned refineries, which it said account for the majority of the oil China buys from Iran. “This revenue ultimately benefits the Iranian regime, its weapons programs, and its military,” the Treasury said in its notice.
China’s government and major state-owned companies deny direct purchases of Iranian crude, while customs data have not recorded imports from Iran since 2023.
Beijing has argued that sanctions imposed without a UN mandate are illegal under international law. In a statement on Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said the restrictions interfere with normal trade between Chinese firms and third parties and banned compliance with the sanctions, citing “national sovereignty, security and development interests.” A government spokesperson said the move would not affect China’s international obligations or its protection of foreign-invested firms.
“The ministry will continue to closely monitor the improper extraterritorial application of foreign laws and measures, and will carry out further work in accordance with the law if such situations arise,” the spokesperson added.
Oil prices have surged since the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February prompted the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint handling about one-fifth of global oil and LNG flows. While Iran has kept the vital waterway closed to “hostile ships,” the US Navy has maintained a blockade of Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf.
Despite a ceasefire declared nearly a month ago, prospects for a peace deal remain uncertain, as both sides have accused each other of pressing unacceptable terms. Oil prices surged past $120 per barrel this week for the first time since 2022. The war has also pushed US President Donald Trump’s approval rating to record lows and deepened his rift with European allies, whose governments have refused to back operations against Iran.
Image credit: Austin
Dumb yanks are finding they can’t make the rules for the rest of the world.
…and the red chinese are aiming to do just that.
Hopefully before causing too much damange and harm than they have already. Bloody cowboys
What is coming is likely the new normal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv61bqSefDo
Nations must sensibly look to their own interests.
The issue is without the petrodollar, there is less need to trade with the United States.
War with Russia, China and its oil producing nations and countries that are aligned with the East can not be won.
The United States and European nations aligned with the Rothchilds financial organisation is crumbling with the sheer weight of deficits. It won’t be long until a new generation of world order and global digital monetary system will be unleashed upon the planet.
To expect the west to go to war and fight for the system we have now is laughable. Over taxes, levies, water rates or whatever you might like to name them, unsafe matrimonial engagement with awful outcomes isn’t winning the public’s hearts and minds. And don’t get me started on the select biological injections into our bodies.
We won’t follow a government into another lockdown, we won’t take anymore of your preventative medication and we won’t go to war to save this crap globalist organisation masquerading as democracy and freedom.
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