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U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that threatens tariffs of up to 25% on countries trading with Iran, amid continuing talks over the country’s nuclear program.
Under the order, effective Saturday, Feb. 7, the U.S. may impose tariffs on imports from any country that continues to acquire Iranian goods or services, either directly or indirectly.
Trump had previously warned in January that the U.S. could impose 25% tariffs on any country trading with Iran, but he did not spell out how it would work. The executive order still does not impose tariffs on any country, but it sets out a process for applying them.
Iran’s leading trading partners that could be affected by the measure include China, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Germany, with trade mainly concentrated in natural gas and chemicals.
Trade Data Monitor data shows Iran’s total trade volume stood at $124.55 billion at the end of 2024, with imports reaching $68.55 billion and exports totaling $56 billion, with China, the UAE, and Türkiye ranking among the leading partners on both sides of trade.
The order follows heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with an American naval group led by an aircraft carrier in Middle Eastern waters, and indirect talks held on Iran’s nuclear program in Oman on Friday.
Trump said the talks in Muscat, mediated by Oman, went well and that another meeting is planned soon. "We likewise had very good talks on Iran," Trump told reporters on board Air Force One, adding, "we’re going to meet again early next week."
The Muscat meeting was described as the first between the two sides since the United States joined Israel’s war with Iran in June with strikes on nuclear sites.
Meanwhile, the death toll in anti-regime protests in Iran, which Tehran says involves U.S. and Israeli foreign intervention, has risen to 6,563, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), while an internet blackout has continued since early January.
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