Donald Trump said the United States will impose a 25% tariff on trade with any country that does business with Iran, dramatically raising the stakes as unrest grips the Islamic Republic and Washington debates its next move.
In a post on Truth Social late Monday, Trump said the measure would take effect "immediately," warning that any nation maintaining commercial ties with Tehran would face the penalty on all trade with the US. He offered no details on how the policy would be enforced or under what legal authority it would be implemented, and no formal order had appeared on the White House website.
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Iran has long been under heavy US sanctions, but the threat of secondary tariffs could have wide repercussions for countries that continue trading with Tehran, including China, the United Arab Emirates and India, which rank among Iran's top export destinations. Tariffs would be paid by US importers, potentially raising costs across supply chains.
The announcement comes as Iran faces its largest anti-government protests in years, sparked by economic hardship and escalating into calls for the fall of the clerical leadership. A US-based rights group says nearly 600 people have been killed since demonstrations began in late December, though Iran has not released official figures.
While Trump has kept the door open to diplomacy and possible talks with Iranian officials, he has also warned of military action, underscoring a strategy that blends pressure with unpredictability. The tariff threat adds a new economic weapon to that approach, one that could test relations with US trading partners as well as Iran's already strained economy.