Ololade Adeyanju/
US President, Donald Trump, has announced what he described as an unprecedented campaign of economic warfare against Iran, threatening countries, banks, businesses and government entities that continue to provide Tehran with financial, commercial or logistical support with severe economic consequences.
Trump made the declaration in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday as efforts to reach an agreement with Iran remained stalled and the conflict between Washington and Tehran continued to disrupt regional trade and energy markets.
“No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me,” Trump wrote.
“TRAGICALLY, for them, they have failed to take it,” he added.
Trump said his administration would now move beyond existing pressure on Tehran and launch what he called the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY”.
“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” he declared.
The announcement represents a significant expansion of Washington’s economic pressure campaign because Trump’s threat extends beyond Iran to third-country governments and private entities that help Tehran maintain access to international finance, trade and transport.
Trump specifically warned against oil smuggling, financial swap arrangements, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries and front companies being used to sustain Iran’s economy.
“ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” he said.
“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW.”
Trump did not set out a detailed list of the new measures or identify the countries that could be targeted. His warning, however, potentially puts pressure on major trading partners of Iran, particularly countries and businesses that facilitate its oil exports or provide access to international financial networks.
Bloomberg reported that China, which buys a large share of Iranian oil, could come under particular scrutiny as Washington seeks to enforce the new campaign.
Trump’s warning also comes as the administration attempts to choke off financial and commercial channels that have allowed Iran to continue trading despite years of US sanctions.
Trump portrayed the economic offensive as the next stage of a broader campaign against Iran, claiming that the country’s military capabilities had already been devastated.
“Their navy is gone, their air force is destroyed, their military factories are now rubble, their currency is worthless, and their country is hanging by a thread,” he wrote.
He offered no detailed evidence in the post for each of those claims, and the scale of the damage to Iran’s military and economy remains subject to competing claims from Washington and Tehran.
Trump nevertheless said the United States would now seek to make Iran’s economic isolation comprehensive.
“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY,” he declared, urging US allies to support the campaign.
“And we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat,” he wrote.
The announcement comes after a 60-day period for US-Iranian negotiations expired without a breakthrough.
The talks have been complicated by the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, with Washington and Tehran continuing to disagree over whether the waterway is open or closed.
Reuters reported on Thursday that shipping traffic through the strait remained extremely low, with nine commodity vessels recorded passing through on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
The continuing uncertainty has already pushed up energy prices. Brent crude reached about $94.60 a barrel on Thursday, according to Reuters, as markets remained sensitive to developments surrounding the conflict and the future of oil shipments through the Gulf.
The United Arab Emirates has already taken a major step that could reinforce Trump’s attempt to isolate Tehran.
Abu Dhabi announced on Wednesday that it had suspended all trade activities, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice. The decision followed the UAE’s announcement that it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, which it said had targeted maritime traffic. Tehran rejected the UAE’s account as baseless.
The UAE is particularly significant to Iran’s economy because it has long served as an important commercial and re-export hub for Iranian businesses. The move therefore threatens one of the channels through which Iranian trade has continued despite US sanctions.
Trump’s latest announcement appears designed to widen that pressure by making the cost of dealing with Iran potentially extend beyond American sanctions to foreign companies and governments that facilitate Iranian commerce.
Iran, however, has rejected the US approach.
Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, dismissed Trump’s so-called “Economic D-Day” campaign, describing it as “a diversion from America’s own crisis” and arguing that greater economic pressure would not force Tehran to capitulate.
Araghchi said the measures would “only bring further defeat and enmity of Iranians” and accused Washington of pursuing “economic terrorism” that threatened the global economy and national sovereignty.
The Iranian government has also maintained that there can be no meaningful negotiations while what it considers US violations of previous understandings remain unresolved.
Araghchi said earlier this month that Tehran was exchanging messages through intermediaries but that this did not amount to formal negotiations.
Trump, for his part, gave no indication that Washington intended to ease its demands.
“These maniacs are on the ropes,” he wrote.
He said the measures would “cripple” Iran and its ability to project what he described as terror around the world.
The US president also repeated one of his central objectives in the confrontation with Tehran.
“IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump declared.
His announcement therefore combines economic coercion with an explicit demand that Iran abandon any pathway towards acquiring a nuclear weapon, while also seeking to deprive Tehran of the financial resources needed to sustain its military capabilities and regional influence.
The immediate challenge for Washington will be enforcing such a sweeping campaign without provoking a wider confrontation with countries that continue to trade with Iran.
For Iran, the threat comes as its economy is already under severe pressure from sanctions, the conflict and disruption to regional trade.
Trump ended his post with a direct appeal to countries that have continued to maintain economic links with Tehran.
“You know who you are,” he wrote.
“THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”
0Related posts:
Iran ‘is Considering Attacking the World Cup in Qatar’, Israeli Intelligence Chief Claims
Israel Threatens to Kill Khamenei’s Successor as Iran Weighs Leadership Choice
Iran’s President, Foreign Minister, Others Found Dead at Helicopter Crash Site
Russia Providing Iran Targeting Intelligence as Trump Demands ‘Unconditional Surrender’ in Escalating War
Blasts at the Tomb of Iranian General Killed by US Leave 95 Dead
Trump Warns Iran ‘Will No Longer Exist’ as US Launches Fresh Strikes over Strait of Hormuz Tanker Attack