US Steps Up Pressure on Iran Oil Trade in Singapore Meetings, Eyes China

US Treasury officials visited Singapore late last week to ramp up pressure on the financial and maritime sectors concerning Iran’s oil industry and Chinese buyers of Iranian crude, according to sources familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg reports.

During meetings with company executives and banks, the officials emphasized that Washington would not ease sanctions on Tehran, according to people present at the discussions or directly briefed by their companies, who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the exchanges.

Instead, the Treasury officials highlighted growing US attention on smaller, privately run refiners in China’s eastern Shandong province, which are key purchasers of Iranian oil. They warned that more penalties could be added, the people said.

Enforcement remains a significant challenge for Washington in a region where few countries recognize unilateral US sanctions. However, large financial institutions and major shipping players are eager to avoid entanglement in secondary US sanctions.

These discussions follow a series of US sanctions on vessels and trading companies working with Tehran. Last month saw the first move to sanction a Chinese private refiner, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., for purchasing Iranian oil valued at approximately $500 million, according to a Treasury Department statement at the time.

The visit also coincides with the restart of US-Iran negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. White House and Iranian officials have described the recent indirect talks as “constructive,” although the US side has also acknowledged that the issues at stake are “very complicated.”

The Trump administration has repeatedly stated its intention to exert “maximum pressure” on Iran and to tighten enforcement, seeking to force Tehran’s government to abandon uranium enrichment and halt support for proxy militias.