Trump Directs Officials to Ramp Up Economic Pressure on Iran
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump signed a directive that aims to ramp up economic pressure on Iran, following through on pledges to reverse what he has cast as a lax sanctions enforcement regime under his White House predecessor.
The directive will ask Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to use sanctions and tougher enforcement of existing measures to increase the pressure on Tehran. Taken together Trump’s moves revives a tougher stance against Iran that Trump embraced in his first term, when he pulled the US out of an agreement that imposed limits on the country’s nuclear program and sought to economically isolate Tehran.
Trump issued the new actions on Tuesday in the Oval Office, casting them as tough on Tehran and expressing hope that the US would not need to resort to all of the measures available.
“Hopefully we’re not going to have to use it very much,” Trump said, adding he would look to “work out a deal with Iran.”
“Maybe that’s possible. Maybe it’s not possible,” he added.
The White House is seeking to cut off Iran’s oil exports, though it’s unclear how exactly the US aims to achieve that goal or if it is possible. The action also reaffirms the administration’s plans to cut off any path Tehran may have to obtaining nuclear weapons.
Trump said the US had a right to block Iran’s oil and warned that Tehran was getting closer to developing its own nuclear weapon capabilities.
Trump has assailed former President Joe Biden, claiming that Iran defied sanctions during his tenure, allowing oil exports to return to almost full capacity. Over the last four years, sanctions evasion and more relaxed US enforcement have allowed the Middle Eastern nation to boost oil exports by about 1 million barrels a day, with most of the supply going to China, according to Bloomberg’s tanker tracking data and estimates by commercial and government organizations.
Earlier: Trump’s Iran Policy Puts Focus on $30 Billion-a-Year Oil Revenue
Cutting off Iran’s oil revenue would further damage the finances of a country already under strains. The country is dealing with power shortages from a lack of investments, a falling currency and struggling industries — problems that threaten to worsen if oil revenue is reduced.
During his own presidency, Biden intensified sanctions on Tehran over its support for proxy groups in the Middle East such as Hamas and Hezbollah and for its ties with Russia. Biden broadened US sanctions on Iran’s oil and gas sectors as well following a ballistic missile attack on Israel.
Trump after being reelected in 2024 said he is open to dealing with Iran provided that it does not seek nuclear weapons. “We’re not looking to do damage to Iran,” Trump said, while cautioning that “they can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist, has prioritized sanctions relief and a rapprochement, as he seeks to stabilize the country’s economy.
Trump on Tuesday also signed actions that withdraw the US from refugee and human rights initatives run by the United Nations, as well as initating a broader review of funding to the international organization as well as its scientific, educational, and cultural branch.