Trump administration targets Chinese and Hong Kong businesses with Iran sanctions

The Trump administration slapped sanctions on dozens of businesses in China and Hong Kong tied to Iran, escalating a campaign that has turned the two territories into ground zero for Washington’s economic pressure on Tehran’s military apparatus. The actions, carried out by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), zero in on companies and individuals accused of helping Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) procure weapons components and move oil. A growing web of designated entities As of November 2025, at least 366 entities in mainland China or Hong Kong had already been sanctioned by the US government, with the targeting of oil revenue streams as a persistent theme. In May 2026, the Treasury sanctioned entities for aiding Iran’s military supply chain, including Yushita Shanghai and Hitex Insulation. That round came just ahead of a Trump-Xi summit. On June 10, 2026, OFAC designated nine individuals and entities for facilitating IRGC weapons procurement worth millions of dollars. Among those named were Mustad Limited and an individual identified as Liu Boyu. The focus was on procurement n...