U.S. Sanctions 12 Iran-Linked Companies Over China Oil Sales for IRGC Ahead of Trump’s Beijing Visit

The United States on May 11 imposed sanctions on 12 companies and individuals that it said facilitated the sale and supply of Iranian oil to China on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing scheduled for May 13–15.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Trump plans to discuss with Xi Jinping why China still buys Iranian oil, while the U.S. Treasury separately warned independent Chinese refineries — the so-called "teapots" — about possible secondary sanctions for involvement in illicit trade.

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The sanctions were described as part of Operation "Economic Fury" to cut off the Iranian regime from revenues Washington says are directed toward weapons development, support for terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions.

The U.S. Treasury said the sanctions stipulate that all assets of the designated persons located in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are subject to freezing and mandatory reporting to OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control under the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In parallel, the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent emphasized that Operation "Economic Fury" would continue, and he said on April 27 that the Treasury Department would apply maximum pressure on Iran and "will not hesitate to take action against any third parties that facilitate or conduct business with Iranian entities."

As Trump arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a New York Times report cited American officials saying Chinese companies were negotiating with Iran to supply weapons and military equipment and planned to move shipments through third countries to camouflage and conceal the original source.

The report said U.S. officials gathered intelligence indicating the discussions reflected an effort to bypass international oversight, while also noting that the actual size of the shipments sent so far was not clear.

Al-Jazeera Net

The Jerusalem Post said the New York Times report described at least one transit country planned to hide the origin of the weapons shipments as being in Africa, and it said US officials allegedly do not believe the Chinese government formally approved the moves.

Trump told Fox Business Network that he personally wrote Xi asking him to stop arms transfers, and the report quoted Trump saying, "I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that, essentially, he’s not doing that."

The Al-Jazeera Net report also said Beijing is the main buyer of Iranian oil, accounting for up to 80% of Tehran's exports, and it added that since the start of the war China provided Iran with satellite data and "dual-use" components used in the manufacture of drones and missiles.

The Straits Times reported that the U.S. Treasury alleged Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "relies on front companies in permissive economic jurisdictions to obfuscate its role in oil sales and funnel the revenue to the Iranian regime" as it issued sanctions against 12 individuals and entities.

It said the sanctions would block any US-based assets of designated entities and ban transactions with them by U.S. entities and individuals, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Economic Fury would continue to deprive the regime of funding for its weapons programmes, terrorist proxies and nuclear ambitions.

The same reporting tied the sanctions to the broader U.S. push for greater pressure on Tehran from Beijing, and it said Washington eased some sanctions on Iranian oil in March before tightening restrictions again.

In the background of the Trump-Xi summit, the New York Times-cited reporting described U.S. officials urging Beijing to halt weapons sales to Iran and to block arms transfers, while also saying it was unclear whether any weapons had been shipped yet.

In the Al-Jazeera Net account, American officials said these moves come at a sensitive time because it has not yet been proven that Chinese-made weapons have been used directly against American or Israeli forces since the outbreak of the military confrontation with Iran in late February.