The US is threatening Iran with economic D-Day , with sanctions targeting Tehran's main trading
partners. So who are they? China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, an estimated
1.38 million barrels per day in 2025. In April , the US Treasury imposed sanctions on a
Chinese independent refinery for buying billions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil. It
also warned Chinese banks of secondary sanctions. If they facilitated the trade of
Iranian oil. But over the past decade, Beijing has created a ring-fenced system of refiners.
They process mainly Iranian oil and do not have much US exposure. China has said it firmly
opposes illegal unilateral sanctions. The UAE has long been one of Iran's economic
lifelines and was among Tehran's largest trading partners before the war. It provided
30% of Iran's imports worth an overall $21 billion in 2024, according to the World Trade
Organization's latest figures, as well as 13% of exports. But the UAE recently suspended all
financial and economic transactions with Iran until further notice. It cited a military
escalation by Tehran with a missile threat. Turkey, which gets 13% of its
gas from Iran, has expressed no willingness to change its significant economic ties with
Tehran. Iraq pays Iran around $4 to $5 billion a year for natural gas. Two
Iraqi energy officials said any new US sanctions could create significant challenges
for Baghdad in maintaining payments for Iranian energy. And India's trade with Iran
once stood at $17 billion. It was cut by more than 2/3 in 2020 when the US pressed on with
sanctions against Tehran and has fallen further ever since.