Jan. 13 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has announced on social media a 25% tariff on any country doing business with Iran, tightening his financial vice on the Middle Eastern country whose regime has killed hundreds of protesters in the last two weeks.
Trump said, “This order is final and conclusive” in a statement announcing the punitive measure on his Truth Social platform Monday, though it is unclear if the tariff is legal. Nor did the president specify what he exactly meant by “doing business.”
The president frequently uses tariffs as both a negotiating tactic and punishment, but those he has imposed during his second term in the White House have been challenged in the courts, as Congress constitutionally controls the nation’s taxing authority and delegates trade powers to the executive branch.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration has been publicly contemplating carrying out military strikes against Iran, a country whose relationship with the United States took a precipitous downward turn during his first tour of the White House and again since he returned to the helm of the executive branch last year.
The Iranian regime, led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has confronted protests that began last month over the country’s deepening economic crisis with escalating violence.
As of Monday, the Iranian regime has killed at least 646 people and made more than 10,700 arrests, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based Iran watchdog. However, the alleged atrocities are now being committed under an Internet that has more than 100 hours, raising worries among human rights advocates that the actual death toll might be higher.
Iran Human Rights states that in the 16 days of protests, at least 648 protesters have been killed, with some estimates putting the number of people dead in the thousands.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night that Iranian leadership had made contact with his administration to initiate negotiations.
He also floated the idea of a military response, stating Iran was “starting to” cross his red line.
“We’re looking at it very seriously. The military’s looking at it. And we’re looking at some very strong options,” he said.
“We’ll make a determination.”
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