Former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo is pressing the U.S. government to cut off Beijing’s imports of Iranian oil before Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington.
Severing the Economic Lifeline
Pompeo argued that halting these transactions is essential to bankrupting the Iranian regime and securing an American victory in the Middle East. “China buys the majority of Iranian crude, so severing that economic lifeline is critical to American victory in Iran,” Pompeo stated in a Sept. 3 post on X.
During an appearance on the Sekulow broadcast the previous day, Pompeo detailed that Beijing is purchasing up to 500,000 barrels of Iranian crude daily, paying the regime directly in its own currency. With Xi scheduled to visit the White House on Sept. 24, Pompeo stressed that Iran must be a top agenda item for the Trump administration.
“Let’s hope that by the time Xi Jinping comes to America later this month, that relationship has been radically disrupted – and China understands that it backed the wrong horse,” Pompeo said. He echoed this sentiment on the live broadcast, urging the U.S. delegation to make clear to the Chinese that “they have picked the losing horse here.”
Maximum Pressure and Military Strikes
The push to isolate Tehran economically aligns with the Treasury Department’s new “Operation Economic Outcast,” a maximum pressure campaign designed to defund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Pompeo noted that this intense economic blockade, paired with recent kinetic military operations by President Donald Trump, such as Operation Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury, fundamentally changes the psychology of Iran’s leadership. By keeping global energy prices relatively low and strangling the Iranian economy, the U.S. prevents the regime from funding its soldiers and buying munitions.
Despite Iran’s continued attempts to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage, Pompeo remains confident that the United States holds the ultimate leverage and time advantage. He predicts that the combined economic and military pressure will inevitably force Iran to surrender, bankrupt its terror proxies, and ensure the regime never acquires a nuclear weapon.
How Have Crude Oil and Stock Markets Performed?
At the last check, Brent Crude futures were about 0.54% lower at $95.00; meanwhile, WTI Crude futures were 0.65% lower at $90.71 per barrel. Brent tracker, United States Brent Oil Fund, LP (NYSE:BNO), was 0.54% lower, whereas United States Oil Fund, LP (NYSE:USO), which tracks WTI, was down 0.94% in overnight trading.
The S&P 500 index has advanced 12.97% year-to-date. Similarly, the Nasdaq Composite index was up 14.41%, and the Dow Jones gained 10.96% YTD.
On Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, respectively, closed higher. The SPY was up 1.50% to $773.17, while the QQQ advanced by 1.19% to $717.67. Meanwhile, the Dow tracker, State Street SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA), also ended 1.19% higher at $536.93.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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