US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) announced that he is launching what he described as the “most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” against Iran. In a post on Truth Social, Trump also warned that any country doing business with or helping Iran financially in any form would face ‘‘tremendous’ consequences for their actions.
“Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY! This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump wrote.
“I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” he added.
US-Iran talks stall
Trump’s latest warning comes as the talks between the US and Iran to end the ongoing war have stalled, primarily due to the disagreements over the future of the .
The US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 17 to end the war, which began on February 28. However, the 14-point agreement, which was aimed at ending the conflict, lifting the US naval blockade and resuming the uninterrupted movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, soon fell apart.
Though Trump has on multiple occasions claimed that the US and Iran are making progress in the talks and that Tehran is pleading for a deal, the Islamic Republic’s leadership has denied any such developments and is pursuing a maximalist approach, well aware of the American President’s political constraints ahead of the mid-term elections.
Trump threatens to bomb Oman
There were also reports that Trump was willing to give major concessions to Iran, including control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has also threatened to bomb Oman, a US ally in the Middle East, if it gets in the way of his administration’s talks with Iran.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox News on Monday.
Trump’s comments came in response to reports that , which are located on opposite sides of the Strait, have reached an agreement to restore commercial shipping through Hormuz.
He also said that Iran “should put up the white flag of surrender.”
Later in the day, Trump also said that Iran would not make the deal he thinks is needed to end a war with the US.
“They’re not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary. Look, we’re in there for one reason: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
