President Donald Trump suggested the United States could still sanction Chinese banks over transactions with Iran, telling reporters in the Oval Office, "Who said I’m not?" The response came two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast," a sanctions expansion covering more than 60 entities across Iran’s digital-assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping sectors. The package included smaller Chinese companies involved in Iranian trade but excluded major state-backed Chinese financial institutions. China purchases an estimated 80%-90% of Iran’s seaborne crude exports, making Chinese financial institutions a key channel for Iranian oil revenue. The administration is reportedly balancing pressure on Tehran with the need to keep relations with Beijing functional ahead of a planned Trump-Xi meeting. The package’s digital-assets provisions could expose foreign exchanges and over-the-counter desks to secondary sanctions (penalties on non-U.S. entities) for processing transactions linked to Iranian networks, even without a direct U.S. presence. Bipartisan lawmakers have pressed for action against major Chinese banks, while the administration’s implied position is that sanctions threats may preserve leverage before a high-stakes diplomatic meeting.