A US-sanctioned tanker called Rich Starry, linked to China and blacklisted by Washington in 2023 for helping Iran evade energy sanctions, transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday just hours after Trump’s naval blockade went into effect. Before the war, Beijing bought 95% of all crude Tehran shipped via a network of sanctioned vessels and shadowy middlemen. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the blockade contrary to the world’s “common interests.” The IEA’s Fatih Birol last week called this the worst energy shock the world has ever seen, worse than the 1970s oil crises and the Ukraine war combined. Brent spiked past $103 before pulling back to around $98.
This isn’t just about Iran’s oil anymore. Bloomberg put it plainly: the Hormuz blockade is as much about China as it is about Tehran.