US President Donald Trump Thursday threatened with sanctions against anyone who buys Iranian oil, a warning that occurred after planned interviews on the nuclear program in advance of Tehran has been postponed.
Trump wrote on social networks: “All Iranian oil purchases, or petrochemical products, must stop now!” He said any country or person buying these products Iran Will not be able to do business with the United States “in any way, or form or form”.
We did not know how Trump would implement such a ban that he threatened to perceive secondary sanctions against nations that matter to Iranian oil. But his declaration risked climbing tensions with China – the main Iranian customer – at a time when the relationship is seriously tense on the prices of the American president.
Based on the oil -term monitoring data, the US Energy Information Administration concluded in a report published last October that “China took nearly 90% of Iranian crude oil and condensate exports in 2023.” Trump has placed 145% of prices on China separately in order to increase federal income and rebalance world trade.
Trump’s social media threats after Oman announced that the nuclear negotiations scheduled for this next weekend have been postponed. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Omanais Badr al-Busaidi made this announcement in an article on the social platform X.
“For logistical reasons, we reprogate the United States meeting in Iran scheduled for Saturday May 3,” he wrote. “New dates will be announced when they are mutually agreed.”
Al-Busaidi, who has so far been mediated by talks across three towers, has not developed.
Get daily national news
Get the best news of the day, the titles of political, economic and current affairs, delivered in your reception box once a day.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei published a statement describing talks as “postponed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Oman”. He said Iran was determined to achieve “a fair and lasting agreement”.
Meanwhile, a person familiar with American negotiators said that America “had never confirmed their participation” to a fourth cycle of talks in Rome. However, the person said that the United States expected the talks to happen “in the near future”. The person spoke under the cover of anonymity to discuss the closed -door negotiations.
Rome will see the Vatican start its conclave next week to choose a new pope after the death of Pope Francis. Two other cycles of American talks in Iran took place in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the overwhelming economic sanctions that the United States has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing over half a century of enmity. Negotiations were led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the American envoy of the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to trigger air strikes targeting Iran’s program if an agreement is not concluded. Iranian officials are increasingly warning that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stock of uranium enriched at levels close to the quality of weapons.
The American president with his threat to social networks would be to take care of Iran’s main economic resource. It produced an average of 2.9 million barrels per day in 2023 crude oil, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with the world powers has limited the Tehran program. However, Trump unilaterally withdrew from him in 2018, triggering years of attacks and tensions. The wider Middle East also remains on the edge of the War of Israel-Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, the United States continues an air strike campaign, called “Operation Rough Rider”, which targeted the Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has long been supported by Iran. The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, warned Iran on Thursday against the rebels.
“Message to Iran: we see your deadly support for the Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing,” he wrote. “You know very well what the American army is capable of – and you have been warned. You will pay the consequence at the time and instead of our choice. ”
Last Saturday, the round of talks, which included drilling experts in the details of a possible case, also took place while an explosion shook an Iranian port, killing at least 70 people and injuring more than 1,000 others.
The writers of the Associated Press Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Matthew Lee and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press