Context
Beijing faces reprimand under the US law that imposes sanctions on those countries that conduct transactions with Iran’s Central Bank. However, Beijing has said that its purchase of Iranian oil is legal and transparent. The US will impose sanctions on foreign financial institutions starting from June 28.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin stated, “China is opposed to one country imposing unilateral sanctions on another country in accordance with domestic law, let alone imposing sanctions on a third country.”
Washington had announced that the seven emerging economies that are heavily dependent on Iranian export would not be penalized, if these countries make some amount of reduction. The countries exempted from sanctions are India, Malaysia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan. Japan and some European Union countries were also added to the list in March.
Quoting unnamed US officials, media reports in Pakistan indicate that the countries’ import of oil from Iran is too low to be considered for sanctions. However, the Iran Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project will be subject to sanctions.
