US slaps sanctions on dozens over links to Iran oil exports
US President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (unseen) following their meeting at Chequers, in Aylesbury, central England, on September 18, 2025, on the second day of the US President's second State Visit. After the royal hospitality and pageantry, US President Donald Trump's unprecedented second state visit to the UK takes a serious turn on Thursday when he is hosted by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for wide-ranging talks. (Photo by Leon Neal / POOL / AFP)
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The Treasury announced more than 50 targets aimed at people who help to facilitate Iran's shipments of liquified petroleum gas, and include a Chinese port and a China-based "teapot" oil refinery.
The US State Department said in a statement that it had slapped sanctions on around 40 others, including "some of the largest buyers of Iranian petrochemical products by volume and value, as well as the leadership of the companies involved in that trade."
The new flurry of sanctions comes less than two weeks after the UN announced so-called snapback sanctions against Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, deepening Tehran's isolation on the world stage.
"The Treasury Department is degrading Iran's cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran's energy export machine," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement announcing the sanctions on Thursday.
Among those targeted was Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group Co., a China-based refinery that the Treasury Department said had purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023.
The Treasury also hit the company which operates the Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal at Lanshan Port, accusing it of accepting more than a dozen shadow fleet vessels shipping millions of barrels of Iranian oil.
Thursday's actions are the Treasury's fourth set of sanctions targeting China-based refineries since President Donald Trump's return to office in January, according to the statement.
The move adds to the hundreds of people, firms, and ships punished for their links to Iran as part of the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign.
The Treasury's designation means that any "property and interests in property" held by the sanctions targets in the United States, or controlled by a US citizen, permanent resident or company, are now blocked and must be reported to the its sanctions division.
Any companies owned directly or indirectly by one of the sanctioned individuals are also blocked, the Treasury said.
"So long as Iran attempts to generate oil revenues to fund its subversive activities, the United States will act to counter and to promote accountability for Iran and its partners in sanctions evasion," US State Department principle deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
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