“The decisive question is not whether Iran will keep selling oil, but through whom – and the answer defines what its relationship with China consists of. Under any settlement currently conceivable, the Islamic Republic is likely to retain a dual export architecture. What is contested in Tehran is the seller. The customer, for as long as sanctions endure, is not.”
Theo Nencini is the author of the issue “The Single Customer: Who Governs Iran’s Oil Trade with China” of the ChinaMed Observer.
