China rejects US proposal to isolate Iran
(Baonghean.vn) - On August 3, Bloomberg reported that China has rejected the US's request to cut off imports of Iranian oil, despite Washington's efforts to bring the Islamic Republic's oil sales to zero.
 |
| Illustration photo: AFP |
The financial news channel quoted informed officials as saying that the US had failed to convince China to cut off oil imports from Iran, and that Beijing's purchases from Tehran last month remained unchanged.
It is a blow to US President Donald Trump's efforts to isolate Iran after he withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
However, according to the unnamed officials, Beijing has agreed not to increase its purchases of Iranian crude oil.
President Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the multilateral deal with Iran in May and announced plans to reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which could lead to the elimination of Iran's oil revenue.
China - the world's top crude buyer and Iran's No. 1 customer - has previously said it opposes unilateral sanctions and raised its annual oil imports from Iran by 26% in July.
China accounted for 35% of Iran's exports last month, according to shipping tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Tehran has also said that if it cannot sell its oil, other countries in the region will not be able to do so either, prompting speculation that Tehran could block the Strait of Hormuz, through which many international oil shipments pass.
India's oil imports from Iran increase
India, the second-largest buyer of Iranian crude, also increased its imports from Iran last month.
Preliminary tanker arrivals data released by Reuters on August 2 showed the Asian nation increased its purchases of Iranian crude by about 30% to a record 768,000 barrels per day (bpd), as its refineries ramped up inputs ahead of US sanctions in November.
India's purchases of Iranian oil in July were about 85 percent higher than shipments of about 415,000 barrels per day a year ago, Reuters reported.
Preliminary figures show that the country's refineries accounted for about four-fifths of Iran's crude sales in July, with Indian Oil Corporation and its unit Chennai Petroleum Corporation buying about 300,000 barrels per day from Tehran.
US officials have softened their stance after initially saying they would pressure allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East to comply with sanctions and reduce their imports to zero. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month that his country was open to considering waivers for certain countries that buy Iranian oil.
