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U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that his administration could be preparing to sanction Chinese banks over their financial links to Iran, a move that would mark a significant escalation in Washington's campaign to isolate Tehran economically.
Speaking to reporters during an event in the Oval Office, Trump was asked directly whether he intended to sanction Chinese financial institutions over transactions tied to Iran.
Rather than answering plainly, he responded with characteristic ambiguity.
"Who said I'm not?" Trump said. "I mean, who said I'm not? You don't know if I'm doing it. Well, I don't have to announce everything, do I?"
The president's remarks came days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States was intensifying efforts to squeeze Iran's economy, framing the campaign as an attempt to "collapse" the government in Tehran through sanctions and other financial pressure.
As part of that push, Bessent announced a substantially widened threat of secondary sanctions against countries that continue trading with Iran, a mechanism that allows Washington to penalize foreign entities, even those outside its direct jurisdiction, for doing business with a sanctioned country.
Any move against Chinese banks would carry particular weight given Beijing's position as Tehran's largest trading partner, particularly in oil. Chinese financial institutions continue to process payments linked to that trade and other commercial dealings between the two countries, making them a central node in the flow of money that sanctions architects are seeking to cut off.
Despite the rhetoric from both Trump and Bessent, the Treasury Department has not yet issued sanctions against any major Chinese bank.
The agency has, however, sanctioned a number of companies based in mainland China and Hong Kong that it accuses of assisting the Iranian government and its armed forces.
China has rejected the use of secondary sanctions tied to Iran, describing the practice as "illegal."
The response reflects Beijing's broader objection to Washington's use of unilateral sanctions with extraterritorial reach, an approach the U.S. has employed against Iran in various forms for decades as part of a long-running effort to curb Tehran's oil exports and nuclear ambitions.
Trump's noncommittal answer leaves open whether the administration will follow through on a step that could significantly raise tensions with Beijing, given the scale of China's financial and trade ties to Iran.
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