China signals plan to flout US sanctions on Iranian oil

China signaled an intention to defy U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil industry on Tuesday, denouncing the loss of a waiver renewal as an unacceptable threat against “normal energy cooperation” with Tehran.

“The normal energy cooperation under the international law between Iran and other members of the international community, China included, is legitimate and lawful; thus it must be respected and protected,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.

President Trump moved to tighten the squeeze on Iran on Monday by announcing the administration would not renew any waivers from sanctions that punish purchasers of Iranian oil. That decision puts China, Iran’s largest oil customer and a current beneficiary of U.S. waivers, in the crosshairs of the administration’s pressure campaign.

“The goal remains simple: to deprive the outlaw regime of the funds it has used to destabilize the Middle East for four decades, and incentivize Iran to behave like a normal country,” Pompeo said Monday. “We have made our demands very clear to the ayatollah and his cronies. End your pursuit of nuclear weapons. Stop testing and proliferating ballistic missiles. Stop sponsoring and committing terrorism. Halt the arbitrary detention of U.S. citizens.”

The waivers expire on May 2, at which point companies that buy Iranian oil could be blacklisted by the Treasury Department. China protested the sanctions as an example of Trump trying to dictate international policy toward Iran, backed by the muscle of the U.S. financial system.