Iran’s Oil Sales to China Remain Steady Despite US Pressure

New data shows that Iran’s oil sales to China have remained largely steady this year despite increasing US economic pressure on Tehran. Iran says its crude oil deliveries to international customers are continuing.

According to industry data provider Kpler, China has received around 1.2 million barrels of Iranian oil per day so far this year. The figure is only slightly lower than the amount recorded during the same period in 2025, The New York Times reported.

Kpler senior oil analyst Muyu Xu said large amounts of Iranian oil are currently stored on ships and in storage tanks near the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea.

“Up-to-date volumes are difficult to measure because ships have become increasingly skilled at evading detection,” Xu was quoted as saying by the NYT.

The data shows that China’s imports of Iranian oil are therefore only “slightly less” than last year.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Thursday that the country’s oil sales and deliveries to international customers outside Iranian territorial waters have continued despite recent US-led blockades.

“I will not go into details, as this is information that, if disclosed, could be exploited by the enemy,” Paknejad said.

He said Iran has successfully transferred a significant amount of its oil to designated customer delivery points in recent periods.

“Up to this moment, the sales process outside our territorial waters and in distant seas has continued throughout the intervals between the blockades we have faced,” he added.

His comments came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on August 24 what Washington called “Operation Economic Outcast.”

The US initiative aims to cut Iran off from the global economy by targeting its remaining sources of revenue and international financial links.

However, despite Washington’s stated goal of cutting off “every remaining lifeline,” the campaign has avoided directly confronting China.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Washington has been reluctant to seriously challenge Beijing over its support for Iran because of concerns about wider economic or military retaliation from the world’s second-largest economy.

China has strongly opposed Washington’s latest economic campaign against Iran.

On Tuesday, Beijing said it was ready to respond to the US policy of “maximum pressure” and “economic isolation” against Tehran.

“An economic war and maximum pressure will not help resolve the issue,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

“They will only further intensify contradictions and conflicts, cause risks to spill over, disrupt the global economic and financial order, and harm the legitimate rights and interests of other countries,” he added.

“China is closely following the relevant developments and will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests.”

Lin also said a day earlier that sanctions only “lead to escalation.”