“Teapot” is an industry term for small independent oil refiners.
The action comes as the Trump administration has relaunched negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme this month, with talks in Oman last weekend and a second round expected in Rome this weekend.
The United States has not in the past focused on Chinese teapot refiners in part because they have little exposure to the U.S. financial system. Chinese state-run oil firms have stopped buying Iranian crude, on concerns of running afoul of sanctions.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, called on the U.S. to immediately stop its “unwarranted suppression” of Chinese entities and individuals.
Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Any refinery, company, or broker that chooses to purchase Iranian oil or facilitate Iran's oil trade places itself at serious risk,“ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
Guidance for shipping
The Treasury said it was the sixth round of sanctions targeting Iranian oil sales since Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero to help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal's limits on uranium enrichment.
“All sanctions will be fully enforced under the Trump Administration’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran,“ State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a separate statement on Wednesday.
“As long as Iran attempts to generate oil revenues to fund its destabilizing activities, the United States will hold both Iran and all its partners in sanctions evasion accountable.”
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