Is China's NFRA loan halt a genuine retreat from Iranian oil trade or just optics?
Timeline for Jeremy Mark
Mentioned in: Beijing splits MOFCOM defiance from NFRA loan halt
Iran Conflict 2026Background
Jeremy Mark is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Geoeconomics Center, where he focuses on international monetary policy, China's financial statecraft, and the internationalisation of the renminbi (yuan). He is a former journalist with the Wall Street Journal and the International Monetary Fund's communication department.
In the May 2026 Iran conflict, Mark was cited in coverage of China's NFRA decision to halt new yuan loans to OFAC-sanctioned refineries. His expertise on yuan-based trade finance and China's efforts to build a dollar-Independent payment infrastructure made him a relevant voice for contextualising Beijing's financial compliance behaviour: whether the NFRA's action represented a genuine policy shift or a tactical concession to avoid secondary sanctions exposure.
The Atlantic Council Geoeconomics Center is a leading policy research hub on economic statecraft, sanctions architecture, and the restructuring of the global financial system. Mark's work sits at the intersection of monetary policy and geopolitical competition — precisely the space where China's Iran strategy plays out.
Who is Jeremy Mark at the Atlantic Council?
Is China using the yuan to evade Iran sanctions?
What is the Atlantic Council Geoeconomics Center?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 9 May 2026. Editorial standards.