The U.S. Department of State has sanctioned Huaying Huizhou Daya Bay Petrochemical Terminal Storage, a Chinese oil terminal, and Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., a "teapot" oil refinery, for buying and storing Iranian crude oil from sanctioned vessels.
According to the Treasury Department, these sanctions are part of President Trump's maximum pressure campaign to drive Iran's oil exports, including to China, to zero. China is the largest importer of Iranian oil, which the Iranian regime uses to finance attacks on U.S. allies, support terrorism around the world, and pursue other destabilizing actions.
The sanctioned vessels, identified as part of Iran's "shadow fleet," supply teapot refineries like Luqing Petrochemical, which was designated a "teapot" refinery by the Treasury Department for purchasing hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian crude oil. The sanctions also target 12 entities and one individual, with eight vessels being blocked property for their role in shipping millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China.
The action by the Department of State is taken pursuant to Executive Order 13846, which authorizes and reimposes certain sanctions with respect to Iran. The Treasury Department's actions are taken pursuant to Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran's petroleum and petrochemical sectors. This marks the fourth round of sanctions targeting Iranian oil sales since President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 on February 4, 2025.
The U.S. will continue to hold both Iran and its sanctions-evading partners accountable as long as Iran attempts to generate oil revenues to fund its destabilizing activities.