Iran to maintain oil exports to China despite potential UN sanctions snapback

Iran’s oil exports to China will persist even if UN sanctions are reinstated through the so-called snapback mechanism, Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad affirmed, amid ongoing negotiations between Iran and European powers to prevent the reimposition of sanctions.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, foreign ministers from France, Britain, and Germany—the E3—alongside the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, engaged in discussions with their Iranian counterpart in a bid to reach a resolution, Reuters reports.

The E3 initiated a 30-day countdown on August 28 to trigger the reinstatement of UN sanctions, accusing Tehran of breaching the 2015 nuclear agreement designed to curb its nuclear weapons program. Unless an accord is reached by September 27, sanctions will automatically resume.

Europe’s demands include renewed access for UN nuclear inspectors to Iran’s most sensitive sites, resolution of concerns regarding Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, and the commencement of direct talks with the United States.

Regarding oil exports to China in the event of snapback sanctions, Paknejad stated, “They will continue, we have no problem.”

He further emphasized that the reinstatement of the snapback mechanism would not impose “new burdensome restrictions” on Iran’s oil trade.

“In the last years, we have faced such severe restrictions from the unjust and unilateral US sanctions that, in practice, [UN sanctions] won't add much to this situation,” Paknejad added.

According to data from analytics firm Kpler, China accounted for nearly 80% of Iran’s oil exports in 2024.

By Vafa Guliyeva