Spokesman:

China Opposes Unilateral US Sanctions on Iran

TEHRAN (defapress) – China consistently opposes unilateral US sanctions against Iran, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday amid reports that Washington is expected to announce that buyers of Iranian oil must halt imports soon or face sanctions.

News ID: 76977

Date: 22 April 2019 - 14:05

Geng Shuang, speaking at a daily news briefing, added that Beijing’s bilateral cooperation with Tehran was in accordance with the law.

The remarks came after a report said earlier in the day that the United States was expected to announce on Monday that all buyers of Iranian oil would have to end their imports shortly or face sanctions.

In November, the US imposed new sanctions on exports of Iranian oil after President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Washington, however, granted Iran’s eight main buyers of oil waivers to the sanctions that allowed them limited purchases for six months.

They were China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Greece.

An end to the exemptions would hit Asian buyers the hardest. Iran’s biggest oil customers are China and India, who have both been lobbying for extensions to sanction waivers.

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