China is buying Iranian oil in defiance of US sanctions and providing what Tehran hopes will be a financial lifeline for the country’s buckling economy. Although Beijing customs data show crude purchases from Iran are down month-on-month, China is still importing Tehran’s oil despite US measures designed to cut exports to “zero”. Last week the Chinese received their first delivery of an Iranian oil cargo since the Trump administration in May scrapped exemptions on Iranian sanctions.
TankerTrackers, which monitors flows of oil through satellite signals and imagery, said the tanker Salina – a Suezmax vessel capable of carrying around 1m barrels – had docked in Jianzhou Bay, near Qingdao, on June 20, unloading its cargo over the following two days. Oil sales are a crucial part of Iran’s efforts to resist the “maximum pressure” campaign of financial sanctions launched by the US after it pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal last year. This week, Washington imposed a new round of sanctions on the Islamic republic and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, its supreme leader.