China's Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed condolences to the bereaved families and the injured over the mass shooting at a Sydney beach, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at the press briefing in Beijing on Monday.
The incident killed at least 16 people and left dozens of others injured, marking the deadliest shooting in the country since 1996.
"Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent a message of condolences to Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong over the incident. China mourns for the victims and expresses sympathies to the bereaved families and the injured," said Guo.
The incident occurred at around 18:40 local time on Sunday at the renowned attraction in Bondi Beach, where over 1,000 people had gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights.
China expresses condolences over Sydney beach shooting
The Trump administration on Friday expanded its sanctions targeting Iran's oil trade and maritime networks, issuing a new Iran-related general license and updating its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list with entities and oil tankers tied to Iran's petroleum sector.
The Iran-related General License T, issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), authorizes "limited safety and environmental transactions and the offloading of cargo involving certain persons or vessels blocked on January 23, 2026."
Meanwhile, OFAC updated its SDN list, adding multiple shipping companies and nine oil tankers in alleged links with Iran. The move is expected to effectively block their U.S. property and prohibit U.S. citizens from engaging in transactions with them.
"OFAC is targeting nine shadow fleet vessels and their respective owners or management firms that have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil and petroleum products to foreign markets," the Treasury Department said Friday in a press release.
"As previously outlined, Treasury will continue to track the tens of millions of dollars that the regime has stolen and is desperately attempting to wire to banks outside of Iran," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on X.
The move came after a series of U.S. sanctions and other measures adopted earlier this month, seen as part of a broader U.S. effort to cut off funding streams supporting Tehran amid ongoing tensions.
U.S. expands sanctions targeting Iran's oil trade, maritime networks
