#头条创作挑战赛#
Sentence / Eggplant
Due to the escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel, the United States, as Israel's "backer", imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran. However, the real target of this round of US sanctions is directed at China.
According to a report by the New York Times on April 24, the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a sanction aimed at targeting Iran's crude oil exports, which is expected to be implemented in the form of legislation soon in the future. In this sanction, the vast majority of the subjects subject to US sanctions are from China. In other words, the United States hopes to restrict or even ban China's purchases of Iranian crude oil through this means.
(The conflict between Iran and Israel has led the United States to intensify sanctions against Iran)
According to a U.S. official with knowledge of the policy, previous U.S. sanctions on Iran have been aimed at Iranian ships and exporters, but this time the sanctions have targeted foreign customers, shipping companies and seaports that purchase Iranian oil. It is reported that the specific measures of the policy include sanctions on shipping companies and their operators that transship Iranian oil, sanctions on refineries that purchase or process Iranian oil and their operators, and sanctions on ports that allow Iranian oil tankers or foreign tankers carrying Iranian oil to call.
In addition to economic sanctions, sanctioned vessels may be barred from entering U.S. ports for two years, which will increase the commercial risk of transporting crude oil tankers, the source said.
(Oil tankers carrying Iranian oil are entering the port)
China has become an important target for Iran's oil exports, and data shows that China's purchases of Iranian oil have been increasing in recent years, and in 2023 it has reached a record high of 1.11 million barrels per day of crude oil - 90% of Iran's crude oil exports are currently sold to China.
There is no doubt that this policy of sanctioning overseas buyers of Iranian oil is aimed at China, but the question is, does the Biden administration really have this determination? The answer is probably no. Because some observers have found that the People's Party has left a "back door" for the Biden administration in this policy - the bill clearly stipulates that the Biden administration can issue an "amnesty" for up to 180 days if it "has a significant impact on the national interests of the United States". As for what is "important to the national interests of the United States", it is probably up to the Biden administration itself to decide......
(Fossil Energy Extraction Facility in Iran)
The main impetus for the bill mainly comes from the Republican side, which has a more hawkish stance on China, while the Democratic Party has "left a back door" for the Biden administration, apparently fearing that once the sanctions take effect, it will lead to another deterioration of the current Sino-US relations, and the dialogues, consensus and results achieved by China and the United States through many platforms will be "wiped out", and China and the United States will once again face the risk of vicious competition and even regional conflict.
But at the same time, on the other hand, this so-called "China/Iran sanctions" actually have no real impact on China.
(Chinese refineries bought a lot of Iranian oil)
First, the sanctions are not targeted at all of China's refineries, but at a small number of privately owned refineries nicknamed "teapots." Second, these refineries often don't actually buy Iranian oil directly – a lot of Iranian crude is actually "packaged" to Malaysia or other countries for refining in China under the name "Malaysian crude" or other countries, one oil practitioner said. This mechanism is called the "Black Fleet" by the United States, and the U.S. government has always been well aware of its existence, but has not issued any really effective restrictions.
A senior executive at a Chinese refinery also said in an interview with Reuters: "I don't think the new US sanctions will change the procedures and mechanisms for us to purchase oil." It can be seen that people don't take the US sanctions seriously at all......
(Chinese tanker off the coast of Malaysia)
In fact, the seemingly fanfare of the United States "new round of sanctions on Iranian crude oil" is of little practical significance, at best it is a reassurance to Israel and a limited warning to Iran. Jon Altman, a Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, also said that Washington's ability to impose sanctions on Iran's crude oil exports is limited because there are too many loopholes in crude oil procurement to "exploit loopholes". He also said that this is an election year, and the Biden administration, which hopes to seek re-election, is very worried about the rise in oil prices caused by sanctions - it can be said that although the United States passed this sanctions bill, the last thing that wants it to really work is probably the Biden administration itself.