Investing.com -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that China has reduced its crude oil purchases by approximately 40% in recent months, a decline he said is significantly reducing Iran's oil revenues. Bessent told Fox Business Network that the United States has imposed sanctions on Chinese teapot refineries, which are privately owned facilities, leading to a substantial drop in their Iranian oil purchases. Bessent said the reduction in Chinese purchases is placing direct pressure on the Iranian government. "We are finding watermarks of our U.S. large language models on many of the Chinese models, and that's unacceptable," Bessent told Fox Business. Related articlesChina cuts Iranian oil purchases by 40%, BessentsaysUBS recommends adding gold exposure on pullbacks at this priceUS gas prices climb above $4 a gallon as oil surges amid Iran tensions