…with 25% tariff on any country that violates
President Trump announced a trade embargo against Iran on Monday as he weighs possible airstrikes in support of anti-government protests — threatening a 25% tariff on any country that violates the cordon.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The theocracy already is heavily sanctioned by the US government, but the tariffs threaten much more economic pain after the local current’s collapse sparked the ongoing unrest.
Iran’s top trading partner is China, according to the World Bank, accounting for more than a quarter of its imports and exports.
Other major trade partners include Iraq and Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
It was not immediately clear how strictly Trump would enforce the new policy.
His attempts to penalize countries that import Russian oil — in an effort to end Moscow’s Ukraine invasion — have been inconsistently applied.
Trump, meanwhile, is “exploring” Tehran’s diplomatic outreach to special envoy Steve Witkoff before deciding whether to bomb Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier Monday.
Trump has threatened to intervene to protect protesters, but told reporters Sunday that “Iran called to negotiate yesterday” and “a meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting.”
At least 544 people have been killed in Iran during the anti-government protests, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, of whom 496 were protesters and 48 were with security personnel.
Leavitt revealed that Witkoff was the recipient of the message and that it was “quite different” from defiant public remarks from the Islamic republic.
“There was an official from the Iranian government… that reached out a member of the president’s very close team, special envoy Witkoff, expressing a far different tone than what you’re seeing publicly,” she said.
In public, Iranian officials have been defiant, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying “we are completely prepared” for war and the country’s parliament speaker, Baqer Qalibaf, threatening to “discipline” Trump.
“One thing President Trump is very good at is always keeping all of his options on the table and airstrikes would be one of the many, many options on the table for the commander in chief,” Leavitt told reporters on the White House driveway.
“Diplomacy is always the first option for the president… What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately. I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages.”
Leavitt added that Trump “has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary and nobody knows that better than Iran,” referring to the June 22 US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites.
“He certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran. And unfortunately that’s something we are seeing right now.” Leavitt said.
New York Post
