The US Treasury Department Photo: VCG

The US on Wednesday sanctioned dozens of entities and individuals in several countries and regions, including the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, claiming these entities and individuals supported Iran's ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle production, according to a statement released by the US Department of State.

The US sanctions represent yet another example of Washington's unilateral, long-arm jurisdiction that harms the commercial interests of the relevant entities and individuals, a Chinese expert said on Thursday. 

According to the US Department of State's statement, the US sanctioned 32 entities and individuals based in Iran, the Chinese mainland, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, India, and other jurisdictions. 

It is evident that the US' application of long-arm jurisdiction wrongly targeted the normal business operations of various enterprises, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

The expert added that the ultimate outcome of such unilateral sanctions can only be heightened confrontation and manufactured crises. "Not only do they fail to address the concerns the US claims to have, but they actually multiply the very problems the US hopes to avoid," Li noted.

While the US Department of State's statement asserted that the US' action supports the September 27 reimposition of United Nations sanctions and restrictive measures on Iran in response to Iran's "significant non-performance" of its nuclear commitments, Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the US sanctions are based on vague references, with no clarity on the targeted entities, alleged activities, or specific violations. 

On the Iran issue, the root cause lies in the US unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Lü noted. If the US is genuinely concerned about regional security, it should take the lead in returning to the serious multilateral framework of the Iran nuclear agreement and resolve differences through dialogue, Lü said. 

Instead, without rejoining the agreement, the US has imposed long-arm jurisdiction sanctions on entities and individuals including those from China, which only aggravates tensions and contributes nothing to resolving the situation, the expert said.

China has long expressed firm opposition to the US' long-arm jurisdiction sanctions. On October 10, asked to comment on the US' sanctions on more than 50 individuals, firms and vessels alleged to be involved in exporting Iranian oil and liquefied petroleum gas, including a Chinese company, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a regular press briefing that China opposes unilateral illicit sanctions that have no basis in international law or authorization of the UN Security Council.

"We urge the US to abandon the wrong practice of arbitrarily resorting to sanctions. Countries' normal cooperation with Iran within the framework of international law is legitimate and justified. China will do what is necessary to ensure its energy security and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and citizens," Guo said.