The United States has announced sweeping new economic sanctions targeting Iran's financial networks, prompting Beijing to declare it will take all necessary steps to defend its commercial ties with Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the measures as an unprecedented financial assault on the Iranian regime, while China's Foreign Ministry rejected what it called illegal unilateral action.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated that Beijing firmly opposed the sanctions and would employ
"all necessary measures" to safeguard its rights. He emphasized that
cooperation between China and Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted.
Bessent announced the new measures on Monday, characterizing them as
"the single greatest financial offensive ever"against Iran. He warned that any nation maintaining financial partnerships with Tehran would face isolation, and that banks and businesses refusing to sever ties with the country would share in that isolation.
According to , the Treasury announced sanctions on 60 individuals, entities, and vessels, though notably did not include the Chinese financial institutions that had been widely expected to be targeted. The sanctions package reportedly targets a network of brokers, companies, and shadow-fleet vessels operating across the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Switzerland, Europe, and other regions, according to NPR.
Bessent declined to single out specific nations but indicated that President Donald Trump would contact world leaders
"with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime". When asked directly about Chinese banks, Bessent made clear that
"no one was above the reach of US sanctions".
China is the world's largest purchaser of Iranian oil, though this trade has contracted under the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. reported that China buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, making Beijing central to any secondary-sanctions strategy. Washington has increasingly focused its sanctions on Iran's oil revenue network and the entities that move and monetize Iranian crude, including intermediaries outside Iran.
How might China retaliate?
Washington is likely to be wary of potential retaliation from Beijing, which processes the majority of the world's rare earths and other critical minerals—materials crucial to the manufacture of many high-tech products. Beijing has already tightened export controls on rare earths as part of previous trade negotiations with the United States, demonstrating its willingness to use such leverage in disputes.
What is Iran's response?
Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh stated that Tehran was
"fully prepared"for the wider sanctions, asserting they would lead to
"another defeat"for the United States. He told state television that
"the government is and was ready and has a two-year plan to manage these events", adding that Tehran had been
"waiting for these plans for a long time". Madanizadeh further declared that
"we also have our own tools and know how to play the game".
What happens next?
The announcement comes ahead of planned talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for next month. No specific date has been announced for any additional sanctions action against Chinese banks or firms, with officials only indicating that further targets remain possible. The upcoming Trump-Xi meeting could become a venue for broader trade and sanctions tensions between Washington and Beijing.
US officials have also tied the sanctions effort to broader pressure on Iran's digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping sectors. Bessent described the administration's approach as launching an
"economic onslaught"against Iran's financial connections around the globe.
