Trump announces 25% tariff on nations doing business with Iran

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

President Donald Trump on Monday said any nation that does business with Iran will face a 25% tariff on imports as massive protests in the Islamic Republic continue into a third week.

Trump’s tariff threat comes after he had threatened potential military intervention in Iran.

“Effective immediately, 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,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “This Order is final and conclusive.”

Trump told reporters late Sunday evening on board Air Force One that he was considering responding to reports that the Iranian regime is killing protesters. Earlier in the month, the president issued a stern warning to the regime if it retaliated against protesters, as The Center Square previously reported.

“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United State of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” the president posted to Truth Social.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods.

Trump has said he has used tariffs and the threat of tariffs to end eight wars around the globe since re-taking the White House in January 2025.

The Supreme Court is considering a legal challenge over Trump’s use of tariffs under a 1977 law that has never been used for that purpose.

Trump has made tariffs a key part of both his domestic and foreign agendas during his second term. Last April, Trump imposed import taxes of at least 10% on every U.S. trading partner. Since then, the president has suspended, changed, increased, decreased and reimposed tariffs under the 1977 law.

A group of states and small businesses challenged Trump’s tariffs under the 1977 law, winning in two lower courts before the administration appealed to the Supreme Court.

The high court agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis, given the economic stakes at issue. The Trump administration could be forced to refund more than $133.5 billion in tariff revenue to importers if the Supreme Court sides with the states and small businesses in the case.

Businesses have reported that tariffs have pushed up prices for consumers.