By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. imposed sanctions on about 100 individuals, entities and vessels, including a Chinese independent refinery and terminal, that helped Iran’s oil and petrochemicals trade, the administration of President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
The Treasury Department sanctioned the Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group, which it said is an independent teapot refinery in Shandong Province that has purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023.
It also sanctioned China-based Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal, which operates a terminal at Lanshan port. Treasury said it had accepted more than a dozen of Iran’s so-called shadow fleet vessels that evade the sanctions.
The tankers included Kongm, Big Mag, and Voy, which Treasury said carried several million barrels of Iranian oil to Rizhao.
The United States believes Iran’s oil networks help Tehran fund its nuclear and missile programs and support militant proxies throughout the Middle East. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The sanctions came even as Israel and Hamas signed a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, which if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any prior effort to halt a war that spread regional-wide to draw in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon.
Treasury said it was the fourth round of sanctions in which the administration targeted China-based refineries that continue to purchase Iranian oil.
“The Treasury Department is degrading Iran’s cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran’s energy export machine,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
At a cabinet meeting in the White House after the sanctions were released, Trump said Iran told the administration it was in favor of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal and that the U.S. would work with Tehran.
“We’d like to see them be able to rebuild their country too, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” said Trump, who said on Thursday he will be leaving for the Middle East soon.
Despite U.S. sanctions, Iran continues to export large volumes of oil.
United Against a Nuclear Iran, which tracks the country’s petroleum shipments, said its September oil exports set a new high for the year of about 63.2 million barrels, worth about $4.26 billion.
That sales growth was probably due to stockpiling ahead of the resumption of U.N. sanctions on Iran, it added.
The State Department said the U.S. also designated the first China-based terminal, Jiangyin Foreversun Chemical Logistics, for receiving Iranian-origin petrochemical products.
China has always firmly opposed the United States’ abuse of illegal unilateral sanctions, Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu in Washington said.
“The United States should stop interfering with, and undermining, the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Iran,” Liu said in an email response to Reuters.
“China will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Bhargav Acharya, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Clarence Fernandez)
