Trump imposes 25pc tariff on countries doing business with Iran

KABUL (Pajhwok): US President Donald Trump has imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods from countries that maintain commercial ties with Iran, according to media reports.

Trump announced on social media that the tariff was “effective immediately”, without providing details on what would constitute “doing business” with Iran, the BBC reported.

China is Iran’s largest trading partner, followed by Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and India.

The new tariff follows Trump’s warning that the United States could intervene militarily if Iranian authorities killed protesters. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that military options, including air strikes, remained “on the table”.

“Any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25 per cent on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday.

“This order is final and conclusive,” he added.

Public anger over the sharp decline in the value of Iran’s currency, the rial, sparked protests in late December. These demonstrations have since evolved into a broader crisis of legitimacy for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump has repeatedly threatened intervention and said on Sunday that Iranian officials had contacted him “to negotiate”, but added that “we may have to act before a meeting”.

International sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear programme have had a severe impact on the country’s economy, which has also been weakened by government mismanagement and corruption.

On 28 December, shopkeepers took to the streets of Tehran to protest against another sharp fall in the value of the rial against the US dollar on the open market.

sa