New posts
08:42
US Flags Sanctions Risk Over China “Teapot” Refineries
The US Treasury Department has warned that China-based independent “teapot” refineries, especially in Shandong Province, pose sanctions risks due to their role in importing Iranian crude oil.
According to the Treasury, China buys about 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports, much of it processed by these smaller refineries, generating revenue for Tehran.
“This revenue ultimately benefits the Iranian regime, its weapons programs, and its military,” the Treasurystatementsaid.
The United States has intensified economic pressure on Iran by targeting the countrys international shadow banking infrastructure, shadow shipping fleet, and Chinese “teapot” refineries that support Tehrans oil trade, as part of the administrations “maximum pressure” campaign, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a poston X.
Bessent stated that Iran’s key oil export hub, Kharg Island, is nearing storage capacity, a situation that could force Tehran to reduce oil production. He added that this could cost the country around $170 million per day in lost revenue and potentially cause “permanent damage to Iran’s oil infrastructure.”
“Treasury will continue to exert maximum pressure and any person, vessel, or entity facilitating illicit flows to Tehran risks exposure to U.S. sanctions,” Bessent wrote on X.
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
23:59
28.4.2026
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We’ll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
22:09
28.4.2026
US Hits Iran’s ‘Shadow Banking’ Network With New Sanctions
The US has announced new sanctions targeting 35 entities and individuals tied to Iran’s covert financial network.
Announcing the move, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said that Iran’s shadow banking operations have “enabled the transfer of tens of billions of dollars to evade sanctions.”
The United States maintains a comprehensive sanctions regime against Iran, including a near-total trade embargo for US persons, frozen Iranian assets, bans on dealings with the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and secondary sanctions that punish foreign companies for engaging in Irans oil, petrochemical, shipping, finance, and weapons sectors.
Under the current maximum pressure campaign, the US has added hundreds of new designations since 2025 targeting shadow fleets, illicit financial networks, and proliferation activities.
Pigott said that the newly targeted shadow banking network had enabled Iranian forces such as the IRGC “to illicitly access the international financial system to obtain proceeds from illicit oil sales, acquire sensitive components for missiles and other weapons systems, and fund Iran’s terrorist proxy groups throughout the Middle East.”
Dismantling these channels, Pigott said, would advance the Trump administrations policy in the conflict with Iran and continue to impose “maximum pressure” on the Islamic republic.
In a post on X, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that funds funneled through this shadow banking system “support the regimes ongoing terrorist operations, posing a direct threat to US personnel, regional allies, and the global economy.”
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
20:40
28.4.2026
Britain Summons Iranian Ambassador Over Social Media Posts
Britain announced on April 28 that it had summoned Iran’s ambassador to London following what it described as “unacceptable and inflammatory comments on social media.
The British Foreign Office said in a statement that Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer had stressed that the Iranian embassy “must cease any form of communications that could be interpreted as encouraging violence in the UK or internationally.”
Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment after the British announcement, Reuters reported.
In a post on the Telegram channel of the Iranian Embassy in London earlier this month, Iranians living in the UK were asked to volunteer for the “Jan Feda” campaign, in which they would declare their readiness to sacrifice their lives in a war with the US and Israel.
The Foreign Office did not specify which of the embassy’s social media posts it was referring to. British MPs have previously warned of significant and widespread threats from Iran against the UK.
Britain also summoned Iran’s ambassador last month after an Iranian citizen and a British-Iranian dual national were charged under the UK’s National Security Act for allegedly assisting Irans intelligence services.
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
20:19
28.4.2026
European Parliament’s Iran Delegation Head Demands Release Of Political Prisoners
The chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Iran has called for the release of Nasrin Sotoudeh, Narges Mohammadi, and other political prisoners in Iran.
Referring to recent talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad, Hannah Neumann posted on X on April 28: We demand #NasrinSotoudehs immediate release. No deal unless the Iranian regime opens the internet, #StopExecutionsInIran and releases all #politicalprisoners!.
She also spoke to the European Parliament.
Sotoudeh, a lawyer and human rights activist, was arrested at her home in Tehran on the evening of April 1 without being charged.
Meanwhile, concerns have grown about Mohammadi’s health in prison and reports that the Nobel Peace Prize winner is being denied access to proper medical care.
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
18:09
28.4.2026
Chinese Leadership Pledges To Prioritize Energy Security In Wake Of Iran War
In a meeting held on April 28, Chinas leadership laid out plans to strengthen the economy by prioritizing energy security and technology self-sufficiency in the wake of the Iran war.
Beijings highest decision-making body, the Politburo, pledged to systemically respond to external challenges and counter various uncertainties, according to a readout published in Xinhua, a prominent Chinese news outlet.
Beijing has been comparatively resilient to the effects of the war in Iran, largely due to oil stockpiles and a focus on renewable energy. The extended blockade, however, of the Strait of Hormuz is starting to take effect.
A 5 percent growth figure for the first quarter shows that China has weathered the worst of the energy shock, but the economy has still been affected by the crisis. Export growth slowed to 2.5 percent in March, down from 21.8 percent between January and February.
Speaking to Reuters on April 28, Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said that Beijings economic momentum will likely slow in the second quarter due to the uncertain external environment and high energy prices.”
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
16:34
28.4.2026
Trump Says Iran Wants The US To Open The Strait Of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump has said that Iran has asked the US to open the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on his TruthSocial network, Trump said that Iran had “informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse'” and wanted the US to open the strait “as soon as possible.”
Iran has restricted commercial shipping from transiting through the strait, while the United States has enforced a naval blockade on all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports. This has led to sharply reduced traffic and ongoing disruptions to global oil flows.
Trump said Iran wanted the strait opened as they try to figure out their leadership situation, although it remains unclear exactly what he was referring to.
After Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli attack, his son Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly appointed, although he has not yet been seen in public, with some speculation that he was also injured in air strikes.
There are divisions in Iran between various political groups about whether to negotiate with the US.
Trump has said before that Iran wants the Strait of Hormuz open. In a April 22 TruthSocial post, Trump said that Iran wanted the strait open immediately as the country was”collapsing financially.”
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
13:57
28.4.2026
Beijing Pushes Back As US Sanctions Chinese Oil Refinery Over Iran Links
Beijing has pushed back on a US decision to sanction the Hengli oil refinery, rejecting Washington’s accusations that the company “plays an outsized role” in buying Iranian oil.
The US Treasury Department last week sanctioned the Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, based in China’s northeastern Liaoning Province, for having “purchased billions of dollars’ worth” of Iranian petroleum.
Washington accuses Hengli of playing an instrumental role in sustaining Iran’s oil economy since US and Israeli air strikes on Iran sparked a war that has spread through the Middle East. Hengli is China’s second-largest “teapot” refinery — the name for independent Chinese oil refineries — and plays “an outsized role in purchasing crude oil from Iran’s armed forces,” according to the Treasury Department.
To read the full report, clickhere.
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
12:50
28.4.2026
Oil Prices Rise For Seventh Consecutive Day
Oil prices continued their upward trend on April 28.
As uncertainties persist over whether Iran and the United States will reach an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the price of Brent crude oil for June delivery rose in European markets on the morning of April 28, rising almost 3 percent to exceed $111 per barrel.
Oil prices rose for the seventh consecutive day on global markets, while stocks fell in many Asian financial markets on April 28.
The failure of Iran-US talks after the cease-fire and increasing concerns about the long-term economic impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the global economy have led to increased speculation about changes in central bank policy in various countries.
This policy change takes the form of an interest rate increase to counter the inflationary effects of recent developments.
(illustration)
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
12:13
28.4.2026
Iran, US Locked In Strategic ‘Staring Contest’ Over Hormuz, Says Former CENTCOM Official Joe Buccino
Guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) enforces the US blockade of Iranian ports against the ship M/T Stream after it attempted to sail to an Iranian port, on April 26.
WASHINGTON — The US Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports, now in its third week, has stopped almost all of the country’s maritime trade, including key oil exports. But it has also ratcheted up tensions between the two sides as they hold sporadic peace negotiations.
RFE/RL spoke with former US Central Command (CENTCOM) Communications Director and retired US Army Colonel Joe Buccino on April 27 to discuss the escalating situation and the strategic “staring contest” now defining the region.
Of the stalemate between Washington and Tehran on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Buccino says: “Iran understands this creates economic pressure far beyond the region; oil markets, global trade, and energy security are all affected.”
At the same time, the US has deployed significant naval power, including three carrier strike groups — more than at any point in the region since 2003,” he said. “What you have now is essentially a staring contest: each side waiting to see who yields first.”
To read the full interview, clickhere.
Share
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Load more
