President Trump said on Monday that countries that do business with Iran would be subjected to a 25 percent tariff if they trade with the United States, as he weighs options on how to respond to a crackdown on protests in the country.
Mr. Trump said that the restrictions would be applied “immediately,” but neither he nor the White House disclosed how they would go into effect or under what authority.
The president made his announcement hours before senior American officials were scheduled to brief him on possible actions that could be taken against the Iranian government. The options could include launching military strikes or a cyberattack, according to a U.S. official.
Iranians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to demonstrate against the country’s economic woes, after years of American and European sanctions and financial mismanagement. But the protests have evolved into a widespread movement against the country’s authoritarian clerical leaders.
Tariffs on some of Iran’s remaining trading partners would add to the strains on an already faltering economy pummeled by longstanding restrictions that have made it hard for the country to participate in global commerce for years.
What did Trump say?
“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media, adding that the decision was “final and conclusive.”
The Trump administration, however, has not issued an official statement, detail on which countries would be affected or how the tariffs would be enacted. It was also unclear what Mr. Trump meant by “doing business.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump has also used his Truth Social platform to highlight the mass demonstrations in Iran, reposting a video last week alongside an unverified claim that over a million protesters had driven Iranian security forces away in the city of Mashhad.
Who are Iran’s biggest trading partners?
China is Iran’s largest trading partner, with exports totaling $22 billion in 2022, according to the World Bank. China buys 90 percent of Iran’s oil worth roughly $2 billion a month, which represents at least 5 percent of Iran’s entire economic output.
Mr. Trump’s threat spurred an angry reaction from Beijing. “China firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for Chinese Embassy in Washington, wrote on social media. He added that China would “take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”
India exports a range of commodities, including rice, fruit and vegetables, as well as pharmaceutical products, and imports oil-related products. Mr. Trump’s economic policies have already strained relations with India, after he imposed a 50 percent tariff on the country partly for buying Russian oil.
Iran’s other major trading partners, including Turkey, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, have not yet responded to Mr. Trump’s statement.
What has Iran said?
The Iranian government has not responded to Mr. Trump’s announcement. But after the president’s threats to use military force or other measures against the government, Tehran said that it was willing to negotiate but that it was prepared for conflict if the United States intervened.
Lynsey Chutel is a Times reporter based in London who covers breaking news in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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