Alwaght- China has rebuffed US demands that it cuts Iranian oil imports in line with Washington's policy of imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
This is a blow to US President Donald Trump’s efforts to isolate Iran after his withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal with the country, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), they said.
According to Bloomberg, Beijing has, however, agreed not to ramp up purchases of Iranian crude, according to officials familiar with the negotiation, who asked not to be identified because discussions with China and other countries continue.
Teams of US officials have been visiting capitals around the world to try to choke off sales of Iranian oil by early November, when US sanctions are due to snap back into effect.
While the Trump administration has said it wants to cut Iranian oil exports to zero by November 4, most analysts viewed that target as unlikely.
Francis Fannon, the assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Energy Resources, was recently in China to discuss sanctions, according to a State Department spokesperson.
China - the world’s top crude buyer and Iran’s No. 1 customer - has said previously that it opposed unilateral sanctions and lifted monthly oil imports from the country by 26 percent in July.
Iran has warned that if it cannot sell its oil, other regional countries would not be able to do so neither, triggering speculation that Tehran may block the Strait of Hormuz, through which many international oil cargoes pass.
