U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to propose a change in policy towards Iran, suggesting that China—one of Iran’s few allies and a major trading partner—might be permitted to purchase Iranian oil.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump wrote that “China can now continue to purchase oil from Iran.” That would be a major shift in U.S. policy, which has tried to constrain Iran’s oil trade with the rest of the world, including China.
The White House later clarified to media outlets that Trump was “simply calling attention to the fact that, because of his decisive actions to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities and broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will not be impacted, which would have been devastating for China.” The official also confirmed that U.S. sanctions on countries importing Iranian oil remain in place.
China currently buys around 90% of Iran’s oil exports, according to Reuters. Yet, due to U.S. sanctions on Iran, this oil is transported in shadow fleets outside of regulated shipping systems. Shippers then relabel the country of origin before selling it on to independent refineries in China. These “teapot” refineries also often conduct this trade in Chinese yuan, avoiding use of the U.S. dollar-based financial system.
Sanctions on Iranian oil are a key part of the U.S.’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, followed by Trump during his first term and brought back this February. In early May, Trump threatened to impose immediate secondary sanctions on those buying “any amount of oil or petrochemicals from Iran.”
China has not officially acknowledged buying oil from Iran since 2022.
Still, on Tuesday, Trump also suggested that Beijing consider another source for its oil. “Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty [of oil] from the U.S.,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday.
“The President continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil,” an unnamed White House official told Reuters.
China currently imports just 2% of its oil from the U.S., compared to around 14% from Iran. Beijing also imposed a 10% tariff on U.S. oil earlier this year, in response to Trump’s 20% tariffs on Chinese goods, related to alleged fentanyl smuggling.
Brent crude is up by about 0.6%, as of 5:30am Eastern Time, as traders assess the stability of an uneasy ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Despite claims of ceasefire violations by both sides on Tuesday, the truce appeared to be holding on Wednesday.
Trump on Wednesday claimed that U.S. strikes over the weekend had set Iran’s nuclear program back by “decades,” in contrast to preliminary U.S. intelligence reports suggesting they had only led to a delay of a few months.
