The United States imposed sanctions against Chinese companies for buying Iranian oil

The United States announced new sanctions against about 100 people, companies and vessels involved in the trade of Iranian oil and petrochemical products, including against an independent oil refinery in China and a marine terminal, Reuters reports.

The US Treasury Department has launched an investigation into the private oil refinery Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group Co. in the Chinese province of Shandong, accused of buying millions of barrels of Iranian oil from 2023 to the present. The sanctions also affected Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co., which operates a terminal in the port of Lanshan and has reportedly received more than a dozen vessels from Iran's "ghost fleet", which bypasses international sanctions.

Among the attacked oil tankers are Kongm, Big Mag and Voy, which, according to Washington, transported several million barrels of Iranian crude oil to the Chinese terminal. The US Treasury Department said that these networks support the Tehran regime by financing its nuclear and missile programs, as well as militants in the Middle East. Iran, however, maintains that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. This is the fourth round of US sanctions against Chinese refineries involved in the purchase of Iranian oil.

"The Treasury Department is reducing Iran's cash flows by dismantling key elements of its energy export machine," said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

At the same time, the State Department for the first time imposed sanctions against another Chinese company — Jiangyin Foreversun Chemical Logistics — for obtaining petrochemical products of Iranian origin. The announcement came on the same day that Israel and Hamas signed a cease—fire agreement in the Gaza Strip - an event that could reduce regional tensions in which Iran plays an important role.