US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has put non-Chinese buyers of Iranian oil on notice: deal with Tehran at your own risk. The warning, part of a broader push to choke off Iran’s revenue streams, signals that Washington is ready to bring the hammer down on banks and intermediaries facilitating Iranian crude purchases.
The maximum pressure playbook, updated
Bessent’s warning fits neatly into the administration’s renewed “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. China remains the dominant buyer of Iranian oil, absorbing a substantial share of the country’s exports. But the Treasury’s latest posture is aimed squarely at the non-Chinese buyers, the smaller players who might think they can quietly slip Iranian barrels into their supply chains without Washington noticing.
Secondary sanctions, the kind that punish foreign entities for doing business with sanctioned regimes, carry real teeth. Banks that facilitate Iranian oil transactions face potential cutoffs from the US financial system. Non-Chinese buyers are growing cautious, stepping back from Iranian crude rather than risking the wrath of OFAC, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. This dynamic further concentrates Iran’s remaining oil trade with Beijing, giving China even more leverage over Iranian supply and pricing.
