Bessent Says Chinese Banks Warned About Iran Sanctions Risk (1)

April 16, 2026, 2:40 AM UTC

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US sent letters to two Chinese banks warning them of the risk of secondary sanctions if they are found to be supporting transactions tied to Iran.

“Two Chinese banks received letters from the US Treasury,” Bessent said during a briefing at the White House Wednesday. “I’m not going to identify the banks, but we told them if we can prove there is Iranian money flowing through your accounts, then we are willing to put on secondary sanctions.”

Bessent was speaking a day after his department issued a threat to impose secondary sanctions on foreign ...

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