The U.S. Department of the Treasury, in its latest round of sanctions against the Iranian regime, targeted a network involved in Iran’s oil exports and sanctioned an individual and several entities, including an oil refinery in China, for purchasing and processing Iranian crude oil.
The sanctions announced by the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday, March 20, mark the fourth round of Washington’s sanctions against Iranian oil sales since the reinstatement of the maximum pressure policy under the new administration of Donald Trump.
Trump has stated that the purpose of these measures is to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons and to stop its funding of Tehran-backed proxy groups.
Negative Record in Iran’s Oil Exports; Consequences of Sanctions
On March 20, the U.S. Treasury Department announced in a statement that it had sanctioned a refinery known as Teapot and its CEO for purchasing and refining hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil.
“Teapot Refinery” refers to small, independent crude oil refineries in China, which generally have lower production capacities than large state-owned refineries and were historically focused on meeting local demand.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Lucheng Petrochemical, an independent refinery in Shandong Province, China, purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil worth approximately $500 million.
Wang Xueqing, a Chinese citizen and the CEO and legal representative of this company, is also included in Washington’s new sanctions list.
The oil purchased by this Chinese refinery included shipments from vessels affiliated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Iran’s Ministry of Defense.
In this round of sanctions, 19 entities and vessels responsible for transporting millions of barrels of Iranian oil have also been targeted.
“Teapot refinery purchases of Iranian oil provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The United States is committed to cutting off the revenue streams that enable Tehran’s continued financing of terrorism and development of its nuclear program.”
The U.S. Treasury Department emphasized that Iranian crude oil is transported to Teapot refineries via a shadow fleet that employs deceptive shipping practices, such as altering Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.
While the U.S. remains committed to efforts to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero, Reuters reported on February 28 that China plans to increase its crude oil imports from Iran and Russia in the coming month.
According to the report, China’s increased imports are due to the arrival of tankers that are not under U.S. sanctions and have replaced sanctioned vessels due to their high profitability.
The new sanctions have been imposed under Executive Order 13902, targeting Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has continued the maximum pressure policy against the Iranian regime, which he had also pursued during his first term in office.
