News Analysis Small refiners in China are evading U.S. sanctions on Iranian and Venezuelan oil exports by using false flags, old tankers, turning off ship transponders, and transferring oil mid-ocean between vessels to hide the origin of illegally-exported oil. Iran’s crude oil sales, which jumped 40 percent in 2021, are primarily purchased by China—Iran’s biggest oil client. Other large purchasers of Iranian oil in 2021 are all close to Beijing, including the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Venezuela, and Russia. Iran’s illegal oil exports are facilitated by the Biden administration’s lax enforcement measures in its failed attempts at reviving the Iranian nuclear deal. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has supported global dictators and rogue nations before, including through its oil imports. After the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for its 2014 invasion of Ukraine, China increased its crude oil purchases from the territorially-aggressive nation. Despite Burma’s genocide against the Rohingya …