President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 6 imposing tariffs as high as 25 percent, effective at midnight on Feb. 7, on products imported to the United States from any country doing business with Iran.
He said national security necessitates the order, writing that tariffs will “more effectively deal” with the Iranian regime.
The penalty applies to any nation that “directly or indirectly purchases, imports, or otherwise acquires any goods or services from Iran,” according to the order.
Administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, will identify which countries are trading with Iran and determine appropriate tariff levels.
State Department officials also issued new sanctions against Iran’s oil on Feb. 6, naming dozens of entities affected by regulations meant to prevent Iran from supporting proxy terrorist groups.
Trump wrote in the order that he imposed the tariffs because “the actions and policies of the Government of Iran continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”
He previously threatened the levies in a January Truth Social post.
Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also issued a series of executive orders limiting Iran’s ability to access international markets. Trump reimposed and intensified sanctions on Iran in his first term in office.
Tensions flared in the Middle Eastern country as anti-government protests escalated in January.
In recent public appearances and Truth Social posts, Trump has repeatedly issued words of support to those marching for democracy and has threatened Iranian leaders with consequences if they kill protesters.
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote Jan. 13. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
He told the protesters that “help is on its way,” in all caps, and adapted his trademark abbreviation for Make America Great Again to “MIGA,” in which the “I” stands for “Iran.”
A group of Iranian Americans attended the president’s rally in Iowa on Jan. 27 wearing homemade MIGA shirts. They told The Epoch Times that Trump’s focus on democracy creates an opportunity for the 92 million Iranians.
“People in Iran are being killed and massacred,” Sara Hazinia said while the rally was underway. “Iranians are fighting with their bare hands against the terrorist regime.”
As protests continued, Iranian leaders threatened to attack U.S. military installations.
Trump warned that any attacks would be met with “very, very powerful force” in a State Department post written in the Persian language.
“We have said this before, and we say it again: do not play games with President Trump,” the post reads.
The president set the tone for his foreign policy strategy with Iran in 2025 when he ordered Operation Midnight Hammer. U.S. military strikes conducted between June 21 and 22, 2025, targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities with B-2 stealth bombers and a flurry of Tomahawk missiles fired from submarines.
Trump said Iran’s nuclear enrichment programs were “completely obliterated.”
