The rescue arm of the Revolutionary Guards is exposed — in a destination that is not really surprising
Hengli, an industrial giant employing over 300,000 workers in China, serves as a lifeline for the Iranian regime amid heavy international sanctions.
If the name "Hengli" means nothing to you, you are not alone. But inside China, it is an industrial giant that employs over 300,000 workers and records annual revenues of more than 100 billion dollars — surpassing both Boeing and Tesla. Now, it turns out that the company also serves as Tehran's economic lifeline.
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, the US Treasury Department recently imposed sanctions on the refining arm of the Chinese Hengli Group, alleging that it purchased Iranian oil worth billions of dollars. US officials identify the company as a key player in a complex network of independent refineries in China (known as "teapots"), which purchase smuggled oil at massive discounts of up to 25% below market prices.
China's Iranian oil purchases last year exceeded the 30 billion dollar mark, absorbing nearly all of the Islamic Republic's oil exports and effectively financing the regime of the Ayatollahs. Unlike Chinese state-owned companies that fear losing access to the global financial system, these independent refineries have little need for dollars and therefore have much less to lose if blacklisted.
How does the system function? The Wall Street Journal details the operations of a "shadow fleet." Vessels such as the tanker Seeker 8 load oil in Iran, and upon approaching Hengli's massive refining facilities on Changxing Island, they simply switch off their tracking systems. After unloading the cargo under the cover of communication silence, the systems are reactivated to mask their tracks.
Hengli Group vehemently denies the allegations. In official statements, the company claims it has never traded with Iran and that its oil originates from legitimate Middle Eastern sources, such as Saudi Arabia. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has also backed local firms, publicly ordering them last May not to comply with Washington's unilateral sanctions.
Meanwhile, Hengli's business continues to flourish. The company's founder, Chen Jianhua, who began his career as a poor silk merchant after dropping out of school, currently holds a personal fortune estimated at approximately 20 billion dollars. It appears that even American sanctions are not stopping the empire, as its shipbuilding arm — which remains unsanctioned — recently closed major deals worth over 2 billion dollars with European clients.
