On Thursday, in a stark warning, US President Donald Trump threatened countries buying Iranian oil, gas or petrochemical products. Trump threatened with secondary sanctions and said they would be cut off from doing business with America.
Trump posted on his Truth Social, “All purchases of Iranian oil, or petrochemical products, must stop, NOW! Any country or person who buys any amount of oil or petrochemicals from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions. They will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Trump’s warning came after planned talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme were postponed. The US, Iran and other nations have been in a nuclear negotiation for a few weeks. Oman was mediating the Nuclear deal that sought to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on the country.
Two rounds of talk have been held in Muscat, the Omani capital. The third round of the talk happened in Rome.
The threat followed Oman’s announcement that upcoming nuclear negotiations had been delayed due to “logistical reasons”. Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement in a post on X.
“For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday, May 3,” he wrote. “New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei issued a statement describing the talks as being “postponed at the request of Oman’s foreign minister”. He said Iran remains committed to reaching” a fair and lasting agreement.”
The negotiations have been led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
The situation in West Asia is simmering, Where Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear sites if deals aren’t reached. At the same time, Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
The situation in the Red Sea also deteriorated when the Iranian proxy in Yemen destroyed a fighter jet and a tractor on the USS Truman. The US continues an airstrike campaign called “Operation Rough Rider” that has been targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
