White House Clarifies Trump’s Remark on Iranian Oil Export

A senior spokesperson suggested there’s currently no change to sanctions on Iran’s oil trade, while Trump said Iran is ‘going to sell oil.’

A crude oil tanker at an oil terminal off Waidiao island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China, on Jan. 4, 2023. China Daily via Reuters

The White House on Wednesday clarified President Donald Trump’s remark that China could continue to buy oil from Iran.

Writing on social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday, the U.S. president said, “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also. It was my Great Honor to make this happen!”

When asked whether the administration is planning to lift sanctions on the Iranian regime and entities that allegedly facilitated the selling of Iranian oil to China, a senior White House official told The Epoch Times in an email: “The President was simply calling attention to the fact that, because of his decisive actions to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities and broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will not be impacted, which would have been devastating for China.

“The President continues to call on China and all countries to import our state-of-the-art oil rather than import Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions,” the official said.

Speaking from the Hague later in the day at a press conference at the end of a NATO summit, Trump told reporters he is not giving up putting “maximum pressure” on Iran.

“I don’t see [Iran] getting back involved in the nuclear business anymore,” the president said. “I think they’ve had it, they’ve been at it for 20 years, and I don’t see that happening either.”

Referring to Iran’s oil business, he said: “I mean, I could stop it if I wanted. I could sell China the oil myself. I don’t want to do that. They’re going to need money to put that country back into shape. We want to see that happen.”

Pressed on whether he’s open to sanction waivers, Trump said, “No, if they’re going to sell oil, they’re going to sell oil, we’re not taking over the oil. We could have, you know ... China is going to want to buy oil, and they can buy it from us, they can buy it from other people, but you’re going to have to put that country back into shape. Needs it desperately, needs money.”

The president also said that Washington and Tehran will hold talks next week, adding, “We may sign an agreement.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for further clarification.

Trump’s remarks came after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, and after a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran— during which Iran, according to its state-run Press TV, planned to close the Strait of Hormuz—ended in a delicate cease-fire.

The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, is “the world’s most important oil chokepoint,” according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2023, an average of 20.9 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum liquids passed through the strait, around one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption. In the same year, around one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) also transited the strait, the EIA said in a briefing published in 2024.

Based on 2024 trade volume figures published by commodity data consultancy Kpler, a closure of the strait would result in significant interruptions on global seaborne trade, including more than a third of crude oil, 20 percent of LNG trade, a quarter of natural gas liquids, nearly a quarter of minerals, 16.5 percent of fertilizers, and 15 percent of chemicals.

Reacting on Wednesday to Trump’s social media post the day before, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing that China would take “energy supply measures that are right for China.”

The United States has said the Iranian regime used proceeds from oil trade to fund terrorism, drones, and nuclear capabilities.

Iran maintained that its nuclear enrichment program is not used for building nuclear weapons, but in November 2024, the International Atomic Energy Agency condemned the regime for the second time in five months for failing to cooperate fully with the agency’s inspectors monitoring its nuclear program.

The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran’s oil exports in November 2018, following a 180-day wind-down period of the U.S. participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.

In February, the Trump administration had said it was restoring “maximum pressure” on the Iranian regime, including measures “aimed at driving Iran’s oil exports to zero.”

Most of Iran’s oil, which the regime was forced to sell at a discount, went to Chinese “teapot” refineries that depended on cheap crude to reduce costs.

Since March, Washington has sanctioned a number of entities over Iran’s oil exports to China, including “teapot” refineries.

By May 13, the Treasury said it had sanctioned 253 individuals, entities, and vessels related to Tehran and its proxies.