US Treasury targets Chinese oil storage terminal as part of new Iran sanctions

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Iranian oil trading networks, including on a China-based crude oil storage terminal linked via a pipeline to an independent refinery, just days before direct talks between the US and Iran.

The US imposes sanctions on Guangsha Zhoushan Energy Group Co, Ltd, which it says operates a crude oil and petroleum products terminal on Huangzeshan Island in Zhoushan, China. The terminal knowingly engages with acquiring oil from Iran, and is directly connected through the Huangzeshan–Yushan Undersea Oil Pipeline to an independent refinery known as a “teapot” plant, the US State Department says.

“The United States remains focused on disrupting all elements of Iran’s oil exports, particularly those who seek to profit from this trade,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says.

The terminal has acquired Iranian crude oil at least nine times between 2021 and 2025, including from US-sanctioned vessels, and has imported at least 13 million barrels of Iranian crude oil, it says.

China, the largest importer of Iranian oil, does not recognize US sanctions. China and Iran have built a trading system that uses mostly Chinese yuan and a network of middlemen, avoiding the dollar and exposure to US regulators.

The Chinese embassy in Washington does not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in response to a sanction on a teapot refinery last month, a spokesperson said: “China has always been firmly opposed to illegal and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction by the US.”