China defies Trump oil sanctions, cooperates with Iran

Islam Mohamed

As countries were renouncing their relationships with Iran, China was increasing its investment in Tehran’s markets and launching a train project from China’s Inner Mongolia region to Iran after Trump announced the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May last year.

On Monday, China’s envoy to the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna announced his country’s rejection of US sanctions on Iranian oil, saying China wanted to buy it with no regard to the imposed sanctions.

“We reject the unilateral imposition of sanctions,” said China’s envoy Fu Cong, director general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “For us, energy security is important and importing oil is important for China’s energy security and also for the people’s livelihood. We do not accept this so-called US zero-policy.”

He explained that all the countries participating in the talks to save the Iranian nuclear agreement expressed regret over the US withdrawal and the American “policy of pressure”.

During a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that his country will steadily develop its relations with Iran, regardless of the changing global and regional situation, according to Xinhua news agency.

“Regardless of the changes in the global and regional situations, China, in cooperation with Iran, intends to make efforts to support the stable development of Sino-Iranian relations based on comprehensive strategic partnership,” Xi said.

Iranian affairs expert Osama al-Hitimi said that China has two positions: an official position declaring China’s commitment to the sanctions and another unannounced position violating the sanctions.

Hitimi noted that now Beijing has explicitly declared its non-compliance with the suspension of oil imports from Tehran after making sure US options are limited in dealing with the situation following the downing of a US drone, where Washington did not strike Iran as was expected.

Iran has been exporting the entire time on the black market, although cheaply, Hitimi noted, adding that 30% of the price of each shipment was going to oil brokers. Iran was exporting nearly half a million barrels per day.

Although Tehran does not have the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz, it can threaten navigation from time to time, as occurred with the attacks on oil tankers, which made the barrel jump from $59 to $62. There are explicit Iranian threats to raise the price of a barrel to $100.

The Revolutionary Guard could stop the production of oil in southern Iraq, for example, by inflaming the situation in those provinces, as happened before. It could also provoke unrest in the oil production areas of Nigeria or any other oil-producing country, which would affect the global production.