US asks China to join its toughest sanctions push against Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday urged China to back Washington’s latest effort to economically pressure and isolate Iran, after talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the six-month conflict fell apart. “Keep in mind, the Chinese get 50 per cent of their energy from the Gulf. So, it would do them a big service to get with the programme,” Bessent told CNBC, when asked whether the new sanctions would target China. Bessent added that “many conversations are” underway with Beijing, without giving further details. The United States has described the new measures as its “most crushing economic operation” against Iran, according to the Treasury. The collapse of negotiations marks a sharp escalation in tensions over the strategic waterway, through which about a fifth of global oil passes. China has not yet responded publicly to the US request.