U.S. Targets Chinese “Teapot” Refinery in Trump’s Iran Sanctions Blitz

 "The United States has escalated its economic war on Iran by sanctioning a Chinese “teapot” refinery and a network of oil traders.

This marks the fourth wave of penalties since President Donald

Trump relaunched his “maximum pressure” campaign in February. Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., located in China’s Shandong province, faces U.S. wrath for purchasing $500 million worth of Iranian crude.
This highlights Beijing’s role as Tehran’s top oil buyer. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also hit the refinery’s CEO, Wang Xueqing, 19 shipping entities, and a Chinese oil terminal tied to Iran’s “shadow fleet,” including vessels like the Panama-flagged Aurora Riley.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called these deals “the primary lifeline” for Iran, accused of funding terrorism and nearing nuclear capability. The sanctions link the oil to Iran’s military and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, recently labeled terrorists by Washington."

RioTimes