Trump Threatens Countries Doing Business With Iran With 25% Tariffs

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Monday warned countries against doing any business with Iran, promising that any such countries will pay a tariff on their business with the United States.

“Effective immediately,” the president shared on Truth Social, “any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”

“This Order is final and conclusive,” he added. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump’s post comes as demonstrations throughout Iran challenging the cleric-controlled system rock the Iranian regime. Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Morning Wire this week that the demonstrations are the most consequential challenge to the Iranian government’s legitimacy since the birth of the Islamic theocracy in 1979.

“Iranians pushed past reform, Iranians pushed past the ballot box and found the street to be the best way to contest the state and make their case,” Taleblu explained, “not just to their fellow compatriots and citizens, but to the world that they seek wholesale political change – not evolution, not musical chairs at the top, not another fig leaf, not putting lipstick on a pig.”

TEHRAN, IRAN – JANUARY 12: People join a pro-government rally on January 12, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Stringer/Getty Images)

Iranian authorities have restricted citizen access to the internet for five days now as the protesters chant “Death to Khamenei,” referencing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian security forces are responding to the unrest with violence: U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that 503 protesters in Iran have died.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that the president is ready to use military force against Iran if necessary. In June, the United States struck and obliterated Iran’s nuclear sites under Operation Midnight Hammer, destroying the country’s nuclear program for the time being.