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US Slaps Iran-related Sanctions on Oil Tankers, China ‘Teapot' Refinery

The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
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US Slaps Iran-related Sanctions on Oil Tankers, China ‘Teapot' Refinery

The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo

The US on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions, targeting entities including for the first time a Chinese "teapot", or independent refinery, and vessels that supplied crude oil to such processing plants.
It was Washington's fourth round of sanctions on Iran's oil sales since President Donald Trump said in February he was re-imposing a "maximum pressure" campaign including efforts to drive down the country's exports to zero. Trump aims to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and funding militant groups.

The refinery Treasury targeted for sanctions is China-based Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
"So-called 'teapot' refinery purchases of Iranian oil provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and the primary backer of the murderous Houthis in Yemen," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the refinery bought oil from vessels linked to Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, which the US designated this month as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and the US-designated Iranian Ministry of Defense of Armed Forces Logistics.

Treasury also imposed sanctions on 12 entities, and identified eight vessels as blocked property it said were responsible for shipping millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China. These vessels are part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” of tankers that supply the private refineries.
It also placed Wang Xueqing, who it said is linked to the refinery, on the specially designated nationals, or SDN, list. Americans are prohibited from doing business with people placed on that list, and their US assets are blocked.
The vessels Treasury blocked included Panama-flagged Aurora Riley and the Catalina, and the Barbados-flagged Brava Lake.
The State Department said it was imposing sanctions on an oil terminal in China called Huaying Huizhou Daya Bay Petrochemical Terminal Storage, for buying and storing Iranian crude oil from a sanctioned vessel.

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At Least 7 Killed in Ukraine after Moscow Launches Drone Attack

A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos
A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos
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At Least 7 Killed in Ukraine after Moscow Launches Drone Attack

A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos
A view shows an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 23, 2025. REUTERS/Manuel Ausloos

At least seven people were killed after Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight on Sunday, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services.
The attacks, including on the capital, Kyiv, came ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect US-mediated talks on Monday to discuss a pause in long-range attacks targeting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet with US officials in Saudi Arabia a day ahead of the indirect talks, Ukraine's President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine is planning to send technical teams to discuss the details of the partial ceasefire.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he expected “some real progress” at the talks in Saudi Arabia, “particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries, and from that you’ll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire.”
Asked about concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be looking beyond Ukraine and could press further into Europe, even if Russia is awarded territory within Ukraine now, Witkoff said he has been asked his opinion on what Putin’s motives are on a large scale.
“I simply have said that I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War II. In World War II there was no NATO. You have countries that are armed there. I take him at his word in this sense. And I think the Europeans are beginning to come to that belief, too. But it sort of doesn’t matter. That’s an academic issue. ... The agenda is stop the killing, stop the carnage, let’s end this thing.”
Asked whether he was convinced that Putin wanted peace, Witkoff said: “I feel that he wants peace.”
Residential buildings hit by debris Russia launched 147 drones across Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 97, and 25 others didn't reach targets due to Ukrainian countermeasures. The attacks struck the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and Donetsk regions, as well as the capital, Kyiv, The Associated Press reported.
Three people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed and 10 others were injured in a drone attack on Kyiv, the city’s military administration said. Extended sounds of explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital in the early hours as the air raid blared for over five hours. Russian drones and debris from shot-down drones, which were flying at lower altitudes to evade air defenses, fell on residential buildings.
Residents in Kyiv surveyed the damage done to their homes and neighborhoods on Sunday morning. Many were disparaging of the upcoming ceasefire talks, pointing to the burned out properties destroyed in the drone attack, saying these were more indicative of Russia’s true intentions.
In an old multistory building on Kyiv’s left bank that was damaged in the overnight attack, Dmytro Zapadnya, 37, said he had no faith in Russia upholding any ceasefire agreement.
“There is no point in signing anything (with Russians), because it will not be worth the cost of paper where you put this signature. Well, the only thing that is not very pleasant is that now the United States seems to have little understanding of our situation,” he said.
Elsewhere, four people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Donetsk region, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said, including three who died in a strike on the frontline town of Dobropillya.
In a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said attacks such as the one in Kyiv were a daily occurrence for Ukraine.
“This week alone, more than 1,580 guided aerial bombs, almost 1,100 strike drones and 15 missiles of various types were used against our people,” he said. “New solutions are needed, with new pressure on Moscow to stop both these strikes and this war.”
Also on Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 29 over the region of Rostov and 20 more over southwestern Astrakhan. In Rostov, one person was killed and a car caught fire due to the Ukrainian drone attack, according to the area’s temporary governor, Yuri Slyusar.
A woman also died in the Russian border village of Novostroyevka-Pervaya in the Belgorod region when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in which she was traveling.
The driver, the woman’s daughter, was also seriously injured in the attack, said local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.