The United States announced on Monday (24) a new package of economic sanctions against Iran and threatened countries that keep trading with Tehran. On Tuesday (25), China answered that it will not stop doing business with the Iranians and will defend its interests, according to reports from Brazilian outlets G1 and BBC News Brasil.
According to G1, the US Treasury Department sanctioned about 60 individuals, entities and vessels linked to the Iranian government, active in nuclear energy, missile production, cyber operations and oil. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures also cover digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, and that any nation that engages financially with Iran will be isolated, according to the BBC.
The sanctions are part of the "economic war" Donald Trump announced last week; the US president had said Monday would be the "D-Day of the economic war". "President Donald Trump is calling world leaders with specific requests that they cease their interactions with Iran," Bessent said, according to G1. He said Washington has set a timetable for each country to wind down its activities with Tehran and threatened unilateral action, through the Treasury, against those that do not comply. A large financial institution is also due to be sanctioned this week, with no further details given. On his Truth Social network, Trump said Iran is "collapsing completely".
Iran and China push back
In Tehran, the government played down the announcement. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh called the move "the same old talk" and said the country is ready for "any scenario", according to the BBC. Iran's Foreign Ministry warned that neighboring countries that join the US pressure campaign could face "consequences". On Saturday (22), Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Ghalibaf, who is also the country's chief negotiator with Washington, said Tehran had received messages from neighbors citing "new security and economic cooperation agreements".
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday that cooperation with Iran "has always taken place within the framework of international law and should not be subject to interference or disruption". He added that China will "take all measures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests". China is one of the main buyers of Iranian oil, considers the sanctions illegal and defends a ceasefire in the conflict.
Iran has lived under US sanctions for years and has learned to work around them, helped in part by land borders with seven countries. Even so, the blockade has cut maritime oil exports and made imports more expensive, and the economy worsened after US and Israeli airstrikes on February 28, with the rial, the local currency, losing value. According to the BBC, Tehran bets that time is on its side: new disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could push oil and gasoline prices up and feed US inflation ahead of the November midterm elections.