The Tamesis
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 25% tariffs on any country that does business with Iran, potentially destroying Iran’s economy. trade truce He signed it with China.
In fact, it could also severely impact U.S. trade with other countries, some of which are considered friends or allies of the U.S., such as India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
“Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a 25% tariff on any and all business it conducts with the United States of America. This order is final and conclusive,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday (US time), without providing any further details.
See also: Bets on snap election push Japanese stocks to record highs
The Chinese Embassy in Washington criticized Trump’s approach, saying that China would take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its interests and oppose “any illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.”
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning also made a statement short review A news conference in Beijing on Tuesday suggested China was somewhat stunned by the latest outburst from the U.S. leader — and unsure of how to respond.
“China’s position on the tariff issue is very clear: there are no winners in the tariff war, and China will firmly safeguard its legitimate and legitimate rights and interests.”
The world awaits Trump’s next move
But all eyes will be on Washington to see what Trump does next amid speculation that the United States may intervene if Tehran’s conservative regime steps up its attacks on protesters.
Iran, a member of the OPEC oil-producing group and has been subject to tough sanctions from Washington for years, exports large amounts of oil to China, Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and India.
Reuters said it had no official White House document on the policy on its website and had no information on what legal authority Trump would use to impose the tariffs, or whether the tariffs would target all of Iran’s trading partners. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said on the 10th, “China’s position against arbitrary increases in tariffs is consistent and clear. There are no winners in tariff wars and trade wars, and coercion and pressure cannot solve the problem.”
Japan and South Korea, which struck a trade deal with the United States last year, said on Tuesday they were monitoring developments closely.
“We… plan to take any necessary measures once the specific actions of the U.S. government are clarified,” South Korea’s Trade Ministry said in a statement.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tadashi Ozaki told reporters that Tokyo would “carefully study the specific content of any measures once they are clarified, as well as their potential impact on Japan, and will respond appropriately.”
Iran engaged in a 12-day war with U.S. ally Israel last year and its nuclear facilities were bombed by U.S. forces in June. Iran is currently experiencing its largest anti-government demonstrations in years.
Trump said the United States may meet with Iranian officials and said he was in contact with Iran’s opposition while increasing pressure on Iran’s leaders, including threatening military action.
Iran warns against US ‘targets’
Tehran said on Monday it would keep lines of communication open with Washington as Trump considers how to respond to the situation in Iran. The situation in Iran poses one of the most severe tests for the country’s clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The demonstrations evolved from complaints about severe economic hardship to defiant calls for the collapse of entrenched religious institutions.
During his second term, Trump frequently threatened and imposed tariffs on other countries over their relations with U.S. adversaries and what he said were Washington’s unfair trade policies.
But Trump’s trade policy faces legal pressure as U.S. The Supreme Court is considering striking down most of Trump’s existing tariffs.
According to the latest data from the World Bank, Iran exported products to 147 trading partners in 2022.
Trump said on Sunday that he said the United States might meet with Iranian officials.
Iran’s leaders, whose influence in the region has been greatly diminished, are facing Violent demonstrations sparked by complaints of dire economic hardship There was a strong call for the overthrow of the entrenched clerical establishment.
Tehran said it would consider U.S. military installations and Israel “legitimate targets” if signs of an imminent attack were detected, a spokesman for Iran’s parliament warned. Reported by US news website Politico on Sunday.
According to reports, Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said that if Iran is attacked, US military centers, bases and ships will be considered “legitimate targets.” According to media reports. “We do not see ourselves as limited to reacting after an action occurs. We will act based on any objective indication of a threat.”
Hundreds were killed and more than 10,000 arrested
US human rights group HRANA said it had verified 646 deaths as of Monday evening, including 505 protesters, 113 military and security personnel and seven bystanders, and was investigating another 579 reported deaths.
The group said more than 10,700 people have been arrested since the protests began on December 28. Reuters could not independently confirm the figures.
HRANA said it received reports and videos from Tehran’s Behesht Zahra cemetery on Monday, where families of victims “gathered at the cemetery and chanted protest slogans.”
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt told reporters on Monday that while airstrikes were one of many options available to Trump, “diplomacy is always the president’s first choice.”
“The information you hear publicly from the Iranian regime is very different from what the administration receives privately, and I think the president is interested in exploring that information,” she said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran was studying ideas proposed by Washington even though they were “incompatible” with U.S. threats.
“Communications between (US envoy Steve) Witkoff and myself continued before and after the protests and are still continuing,” he told Al Jazeera.
U.S. citizens urged to leave
The U.S. Department of State’s Consular Affairs Division highlighted the escalation in protests and said U.S. citizens in Iran should consider traveling overland to Armenia or Türkiye. “U.S. citizens face substantial risks of questioning, arrest and detention in Iran,” the department said on X’s TravelGov account.
Iran has not released a death toll from the protests, which it blames on U.S. interference and alleged Israeli and U.S.-backed terrorists for the bloodshed. State media focused on the deaths by security forces.
The flow of information from the Islamic Republic has been hampered by an internet blackout since Thursday, although some Iranians can still access the internet through Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite service, three people inside Iran said.
Iran’s intelligence ministry said on Monday it had detained a number of “terrorist” groups for actions that included killing paramilitary volunteers loyal to religious institutions, setting fire to mosques and attacking military installations, according to a statement on Iranian state media.
Addressing a large crowd in Tehran’s Ngarrab Square on Monday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bakr Qalibaf said the Iranians were fighting a war on four fronts – “economic warfare, psychological warfare, military warfare against the United States and Israel, and today the war on terror.”
Araqchi said on Monday that 53 mosques and 180 ambulances had been set on fire since the protests began and that the situation was “completely under control.”
Despite the scale of the protests, there are no signs of fragmentation among the Shiite clerical leadership, military or security forces, and there is no clear central leadership for the demonstrators. The opposition is fragmented.
Trump said on Sunday that Iran has called for talks over its disputed nuclear program. “The meeting is being scheduled, but because of what happened leading up to the meeting, we may have to take action,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
A U.S. official told Reuters that Trump would meet with senior advisers on Tuesday to discuss options on Iran. The Wall Street Journal reported that these measures include military strikes, the use of covert cyberweapons, expanded sanctions and online assistance to anti-government sources.
Attacking military installations can be high-risk, as some may be located in densely populated areas.
See also:
Iran unrest expands: Riots, city fires lead to internet shutdown
Traders say “Indonesian oil” pouring into China may come from Iran
India gets Iran port sanctions exemption, US keen on deal
U.S. sanctions force Indian and Chinese refiners to cut Russian oil output
UN says oil and gas companies, governments silent on methane leaks
Oil prices could top $100 a barrel if Iran closes Strait of Hormuz
Chinese, Emirati companies hit by U.S. sanctions over Iranian oil trade
