Venezuela Gone, Iran Going

China’s long-standing strategy of importing deeply discounted crude from sanctioned producers is rapidly unraveling. After the United States’ aggressive pressure and interdiction efforts have severely disrupted Venezuela’s oil exports, Beijing is now facing decreasing Iranian barrels too, as Tehran’s discounted flows to China have dropped and tighter U.S. sanctions and enforcement campaigns threaten that lifeline as well. That leaves China’s independent refiners scrambling for substitutes and underscores how geopolitical friction over Iran and Washington’s maximum pressure policy are shrinking Beijing’s access to cheap energy sources at a moment of heightened U.S.-Iran tensions.