Referring to a $400 billion 25-year trade deal between Iran and China U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on August 2 said the United States will apply all Iran sanctions also to the "Chinese Communist Party and their businesses and state-owned enterprises".
The comments on the Iran-China deal were made during an interview with the Sunday Morning Futures program of Fox News.
In response to a question on the agreement which the presenter said "is set to be in the final stages of approving", Pompeo said it "shouldn't be surprising that regimes that don't respect freedom at home and foment national security problems abroad would want to join hands" and added that the United States will be sure to enforce all the provisions it has and apply all Iran sanctions, "to the Chinese Communist Party and their businesses and state-owned enterprises as well".
Pompeo pointed out that the U.S. filed new sanctions on Iran on Friday which included expanding sanctions to Iran's metals industry but will also try to stop the lifting of the JCPOA weapons embargo that will expire in October. According to Pompeo, the United States will present a Security Council resolution aimed at keeping the embargo in place.
The lifting of the embargo will allow the Chinese and the Russians to sell weapons systems to Iran and then allow Iran to sell those weapons systems and other arms around the world as well, Pompeo said.
Pompeo also said countries in the Middle East should "see this for what it is as well" and added, "China’s entry into Iran will destabilize the Middle East. It will put Israel at risk. It will put the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates at risk as well. Iran remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, and to have access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the Chinese Communist Party only compounds that risk for that region."
