The administration of Donald Trump has imposed fresh sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and about 40 shipping firms accused of helping transport Iranian crude.
The measures, announced on Friday, target companies linked to Iran’s oil trade a key source of revenue for Tehran and are part of Washington’s broader effort to tighten economic pressure amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
At the centre of the sanctions is a facility operated by Hengli Petrochemical in the city of Dalian.
The refinery processes roughly 400,000 barrels of crude daily, making it one of the largest independent plants in China.
According to the U.S. Treasury, the company has been receiving Iranian oil shipments since 2023, generating hundreds of millions of dollars that allegedly benefit Iran’s military.
The sanctions also extend to a network of vessels and intermediaries accused of moving Iranian oil through what officials describe as a “shadow fleet” often disguising shipments as originating from other countries.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would continue to disrupt these networks.
“We will keep tightening the net around the ships, middlemen and buyers that help Iran sell its oil,” he said.
The move follows earlier warnings to financial institutions in regions including China, Hong Kong, the UAE and Oman that they could face penalties for facilitating transactions tied to Iranian oil.
The sanctions come at a sensitive moment, just weeks before a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
They also land as global energy markets remain under strain. A blockade of the Strait of Hormuz a critical route for oil shipments has already disrupted supply and pushed prices higher.
China, the world’s largest buyer of Iranian oil, has previously criticised U.S. sanctions as disruptive to global trade. Still, many Chinese firms tend to comply due to their exposure to the U.S. financial system.
With tensions rising and oil flows under pressure, the latest sanctions signal Washington’s continued shift toward economic tools to squeeze Iran’s revenue and influence the course of the conflict.
