China’s ‘Teapot’ Refiners, Targeted by U.S., Offer Financial Lifeline to Iran

“It’s the teapot refineries that are keeping the regime in Tehran in business,” said Daniel Roth, research director at UANI.

The trade is now so large that shutting it down completely would be difficult, if not impossible, energy analysts say. To succeed, they say, the U.S. would have to take far more drastic steps such as intercepting many more ships or destroying Iranian energy-export infrastructure.