US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 percent tariff on any country doing business with Iran, increasing pressure on Tehran as a rights group said at least 646 people have been killed in a crackdown on nationwide protests.
In a social media post on Monday, January 12, 2026, Trump said the new tariffs would immediately apply to Iran’s trading partners that also conduct business with the United States. He described the decision as “final and conclusive,” without specifying which countries would be affected or how the administration plans to implement the policy.
“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 on Truth Social. “This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The White House declined to share additional information on the tariff and how the Trump administration plans to implement it, referring media inquiries to the president’s post. Trump did not define what qualifies as “doing business” with Iran.
The move comes as Iran faces one of its most serious waves of unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Demonstrations have spread across the country for several days, with protesters voicing anger at the clerical leadership.
Iranian authorities say they have regained control after successive nights of unrest. However, rights groups accuse security forces of using live ammunition against demonstrators and of concealing the scale of the crackdown through an internet blackout that has lasted more than four days.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated the death toll at 646 as of Tuesday, January 13, 2026. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday he was “horrified” by the violence in Iran as the government crackdown continued. Iranian state media said more than 100 security personnel have been killed.
International phone calls resumed on Tuesday, according to an AFP correspondent in Tehran, but only outgoing calls were possible.
Iran’s main trading partners include China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, India, Brazil and Russia, according to data from Trading Economics. The action has the potential to disrupt major US trading relationships across the globe.
A trade war between the United States and China last year rocked global markets, with Trump raising tariffs on Chinese goods to a peak of 145 percent in 2025. The current tariff rate came about after lengthy negotiations. Trump doubled duties on goods from India last summer to a minimum 50 percent tariff, seeking to punish the country for buying Russian oil.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted “the situation has come under total control” in remarks that blamed Israel and the United States for the unrest.
Iranian state television aired chants from a pro government rally on January 12, 2026, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, with crowds shouting “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!”
Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an “enemy of God,” a death penalty charge under Iranian law.
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the US or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who weren’t authorized to comment publicly.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night, January 11, 2026. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said, “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, stating that Iran had contacted the United States to propose negotiations. “I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said.
The foreign minister of Oman, long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran, traveled to Iran over the weekend, though Iran had no direct reaction to Trump’s comments about potential negotiations.
It remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that the administration was weighing possible military strikes against Iran but emphasized that diplomacy remains the preferred path forward.
In a January 2 post on Truth Social, the US president indicated he would consider taking military action should protesters be killed. “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he wrote.
The threat came one day before the US launched a military attack in Venezuela, which resulted in the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, demonstrating the administration’s willingness to use force.
Throughout Trump’s second term, he has relied on a law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to push import tax rates. His novel use of the law, however, is being challenged in the Supreme Court, with a verdict expected this month. If the justices find Trump lacked the legal authority to impose such tariffs, not only will he lose his ability to adjust countries’ levies, but billions of dollars in duties already collected could be refunded.
The announcement of new tariffs on Iran’s business partners also comes ahead of this much anticipated Supreme Court ruling on whether many of Trump’s most expansive tariffs are legal. Those tariffs, including his controversial “reciprocal” duties from early April and others related to purported fentanyl trafficking, were invoked using IEEPA.
