U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, promised yesterday the… — /CIG/ Telegram | Counter Intelligence Global — TG.ME

🇺🇸🇨🇳🇮🇷 U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, promised yesterday the biggest sanctions package on Iran aiming to collapse the Iranian economy but China, Iran's biggest trading partner, is not included. Bessent and U.S. president, Donald Trump, promised decisive action aiming to cripple Iran's trade with the outside world but underdelivered, seemingly afraid of Beijing retaliating and damaging the U.S. economy. As part of its new effort to end the war with Iran, the U.S. sanctioned more than 60 entities, including Chinese firms that enable Iran to procure nuclear and missile technology, earn revenue from oil and carry out cyber operations. The Treasury also said Monday it would levy future penalties on countries and entities that do business with Iran in five sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. “Treasury structured the whole thing to give China room to adjust quietly,” said Kerri Bitsoff, a former Treasury official. The “framing means China can change behavior without its banks being targeted,” she said. Since the war against Iran began, the U.S. has sanctioned Chinese oil tankers and oil infrastructure, though China has continued to purchase Iranian oil. Although the U.S. blockade has limited Iranian oil exports recently, China imported more than 500,000 barrels a day so far in August, according to Kpler. Much of this originates from an elaborate system involving ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil, which often move Iranian oil from sanctioned tankers onto unsanctioned ones. Those tankers then ship the oil to China. Whether Chinese banks and refineries judge Bessent’s threats credible will be critical. Trump has made improved relations between the U.S. and China a priority following a major tariff war last year. China at the time responded with powerful tools of its own, including restricting access to rare earths, which pummeled U.S. manufacturers. China has repeatedly said it opposes “illegal and unreasonable unilateral sanctions” by Washington. A foreign ministry spokesman reiterated that message in a press briefing Tuesday, saying economic warfare will only heighten tensions and could disrupt the global economy. China and Iran have established a complex system aimed at evading U.S. sanctions. U.S. officials have said China buys more than 80% of Iranian oil exports and warned that Iranian front companies use Chinese banks to buy Chinese goods and move cash via currency exchange houses to the Middle East and Iran. The effort to isolate Iran economically from the U.S. dollar has also forced the regime to increasingly use China’s currency, the yuan, to trade, blunting the effect of U.S. sanctions. On Monday the U.S. sanctioned a China-owned oil tanker it says has transported millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China this year, as well as China and Hong Kong-based companies and individuals that helped Iran obtain sensitive goods, like navigation instruments for missiles. But the U.S. didn’t target any prominent Chinese banks or companies that are more clearly connected and reliant on the U.S.-led global financial system. 🔗 https://unwall.app/www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-squeezes-iran-but-avoids-targeting-its-biggest-lifeline-china-b8d2ee88