New Insights Emerge About Iran’s Secretive (and Very Lucrative) Trade With China

View of refinery No. 5 (Phases 9, 10) of the​ South Pars Gas-Condensate field in Asalouyeh Seaport, north of the Persian​ Gulf in Iran. Photo by Saeid Arabzadeh / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)

It’s been an open secret for years that China and Iran figured out some very creative ways to circumvent international sanctions to conduct billions of dollars in trade every year. Until now, though, it just wasn’t clear how they did it.

Reporters for both publications also found that all of this is done with fine precision to circumvent the punishing economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and Europe that are intended to isolate Iran from the international market.

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by Eric Olander

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