Washington, DC [US], May 2 : US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose sanctions on the 'countries or individual' found buying Iranian oil and petrochemical products.
Trump said such countries will face secondary sanctions, and these nations won't be allowed to do business with the United States going forward.
In a post on his social media account Truth Social, "ALERT: All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW! Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions."
"They will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form. Thank you for your attention to this matter," it added.
Two weeks earlier, the US imposed sanctions on Shandong Shengxing Chemical Limited, a Chinese refinery, for buying over USD 1 billion worth of Iranian crude oil.
The sanctions also targeted companies and vessels involved in shipping Iranian oil to China.
According to the US State Department, "United States is today sanctioning Shandong Shengxing Chemical Co, Ltd, a China-based independent 'teapot' refinery, for purchasing more than a billion dollars' worth of Iranian crude oil."
"The President is committed to driving Iran's illicit oil exports, including to China, to zero. The United States is also imposing sanctions on several companies and vessels involved in facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China as part of Iran's 'shadow' fleet," it added.
This is the United States' second action against an independent China-based teapot refinery since President Donald Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 on February 4.
Further, the statement noted that all sanctions will be fully enforced under the Trump Administration's maximum-pressure campaign on Iran.
As long as Iran attempts to generate oil revenues to fund its destabilising activities, the United States will hold both Iran and all its partners in sanctions evasion accountable, US State Department said.
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