President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China can continue to purchase oil from Iran after the U.S. bombed the OPEC member’s nuclear facilities and hoped that China would also buy “plenty” of it from the United States.
“China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump’s post came after he had announced that Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire following the U.S. bombing over the weekend on three nuclear facilities. He has scolded both countries for early violations of the truce.
Early in his second term that began in January, Trump had said he was re-imposing maximum pressure on Iran over its nuclear program and funding of militant groups across the Middle East.
He imposed waves of Iran-related sanctions including on several of China’s so-called independent “teapot” refineries and port terminal operators for purchases of Iranian oil.
Actual lifting of the sanctions on Iranian oil will take actions by the Treasury and State Departments and Congress. But the Trump administration could choose to not enforce existing sanctions, which could increase the flow of oil to global markets.
China, the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, has long opposed what it has called Washington’s “abuse of illegal unilateral sanctions.” China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s post.
Any larger purchases of Iranian oil by China and other consumers could upset U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.
The State Department referred a request for comment to the White House, which did not respond immediately.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Daphne Psaledakis, David Brunnstrom and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Marguerita Choy)