U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his campaign against Iran by declaring that any country or individual purchasing Iranian oil or petrochemical products will face immediate secondary sanctions. The announcement comes after planned U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in Rome were abruptly postponed.
Trump warned that buyers of Iranian energy products “will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form,” in a series of posts on his social media platform Truth Social. The sanctions threat primarily targets China, Iran’s largest crude oil customer, which reportedly imported nearly 90% of Tehran’s oil exports in 2023.
The renewed sanctions are part of a broader effort by Trump to isolate Iran economically and pressure it into a new nuclear agreement following Iran’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Trump insists that any new arrangement must halt Iran’s uranium enrichment and eliminate the potential for weaponization. However, Tehran maintains that its program is peaceful and remains committed to negotiating a “just and balanced deal.”
