The United States sanctioned on Thursday a China-based oil refinery that purchased Iranian oil worth around $500 million from Houthi-linked ships, as the White House ramps up pressure on Iran.
The US Treasury Department announced in a statement it was sanctioning a “teapot refinery” based in China’s Shandong province that bought Iranian oil worth “approximately half a billion dollars.” Teapot refineries are small, privately owned operations in China and stand in contrast to the larger state-owned enterprises in the country.
Beijing hit back on Friday, accusing the US of “undermining the normal trade and economic cooperation between China and Iran.”
The oil in question was transported by Iran’s “shadow fleet” of tankers, according to the Treasury Department, including from ships linked to the Houthis and to the Iranian ministry of defence of armed forces logistics, MODAFL.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned an additional 19 ships and companies responsible for supplying the refineries.
