US Sanctions First Chinese ‘Teapot’ Refinery Over Iran Links
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The US is sanctioning a Chinese oil refinery and a terminal operator over links to Iranian crude imports, in the first measures to directly target China’s refining system as President Donald Trump seeks to press Tehran into a fresh nuclear deal.
China’s private refiners, known as teapots, are a vital supply chain link in the world’s largest oil importer and the largest purchasers of Iranian oil — but to date they have escaped US blacklists, which have focused instead on middlemen and individual tankers.