China has pushed back sharply against a new package of US sanctions targeting Iran and the countries that continue to trade with it. Further vowing to take “all necessary measures” to protect its rights after Washington announced what it described as the most expansive financial offensive ever launched against Tehran.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures on Monday, warning that any nation financially partnering with Iran would face isolation. He described the plan, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast,” as “the single greatest financial offensive ever” against Iran. Also adding that banks and businesses refusing to cut ties with Tehran would share in its economic isolation. He confirmed that President Trump would personally call world leaders “with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime.” When asked about Chinese banks specifically, Bessent said he wanted to make clear that “no one was above the reach of US sanctions.”
China Objects
China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian rejected the measures outright. “China was firmly opposed to illegal unilateral sanctions,” he said. Further adding that cooperation between China and Iran had always been conducted within the framework of international law and “should not be interfered with or disrupted.”
China is Iran’s largest oil buyer, though that trade has declined under the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. With roughly 90 percent of Iranian oil flowing to China, the effectiveness of any new financial pressure depends almost entirely on Beijing’s cooperation.
Iran’s Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran was “fully prepared” for the new measures. Also describing them as another impending defeat for the US.
“We also have our own tools and know how to play the game,” he said.
The announcement arrives almost six months into the Iran war, with a 60-day ceasefire having expired last week without a settlement. US-China trade talks, including a planned meeting between Trump and President Xi next month, now take place against this backdrop. Washington will need to tread carefully. Beijing controls the majority of the world’s rare earth processing and has already tightened export controls in previous trade negotiations with the US.
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