Iran newest: Trump considers subsequent steps after ordering sweeping sanctions on Tehran’s commerce companions | EUROtoday

While airstrikes had been one in every of many options open to Trump, “diplomacy is always the first option for the president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters on Monday.

“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” she mentioned.

Iranian overseas minister Abbas Araqchi mentioned Tehran was finding out concepts proposed by Washington, although these had been “incompatible” with US threats.

“Communications between (US special envoy Steve) Witkoff and me continued before and after the protests and are still ongoing,” he informed Al Jazeera.

Donald Trump late on Monday introduced that any nation doing enterprise with Iran, a significant oil producer, will face a brand new tariff of 25 per cent on its exports to the US.

“This Order is final and conclusive,” Trump mentioned in a social media publish, with out offering additional element concerning the authorized authority he would use to impose the tariffs, or whether or not they can be geared toward all of Iran’s buying and selling companions.

The White House didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York declined to touch upon Trump’s tariff announcement.

Iran, already underneath heavy US sanctions, exports a lot of its oil to China, with Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and India amongst its different prime buying and selling companions.

India already faces 50 per cent tariffs from the US, together with 25 per cent over its purchases of oil from Russia.

The Chinese embassy in Washington criticised Trump’s strategy, saying China will take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its pursuits and opposed “any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction”.

Trump has warned Iran’s leaders that the United States would assault if safety forces open fireplace on protesters.

A senior Turkish official voiced opposition to overseas interventions in Iran, warning that such actions might worsen the nation’s disaster.

Omer Celik, spokesperson for president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling social gathering, acknowledged on Monday that Iran faces inside challenges however burdened they should be resolved by “its personal dynamics and the desire of the state”.

“We would by no means want for any chaos to emerge in our neighbor Iran,” Celik said, adding that outside interference would only produce “worse outcomes.”

He cautioned that regional instability could escalate further if external involvement is driven by what he described as “Israeli provocations”.

The government secretary of Russia’s Security Council has condemned what he described as overseas interference in Iran’s inside affairs.

The council mentioned in an announcement carried by Russian information businesses that Sergei Shoigu spoke by telephone on Monday together with his counterpart Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

The assertion mentioned Shoigu additionally supplied his condolences over the quite a few casualties, with out elaboration.

Iran has alleged overseas affect within the protests.

The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, introduced a ban on Iranian diplomats from its premises on Monday.

“This House will not aid in legitimising this regime that has sustained itself through torture, repression and murder,” Metsola wrote on X. She additionally praised protesters who “continue to stand up for their rights and their liberty”.

28 December: Protests break out in two major markets in downtown Tehran, after the Iranian rial plunged to a new record low.

29 December: The central bank head resigns as the protests spread and police fire tear gas at protesters.

30 December: President Masoud Pezeshkian vows to work with business leaders to hear their demands as university campuses join protests.

31 December: Protests in Fasa allegedly turn violent after crowds break into the governor’s office.

1 January: The protests’ first fatalities are officially reported, with authorities saying at least seven people have been killed.

2 January: Trump threatens Iran if it kills peaceful protesters.

3 January: Khamenei greenlights security forces in crackdown. Protests reach 170 locations with 15 dead.

8 January: The government blocks the internet after Reza Pahlavi calls on citizens to act.

9 January: Iran ramps up threats of punishment with 65 reported killed and 2,300 detained.

11 January: Iran’s parliament speaker threatens to strike US military bases in the region if Trump attacks, as rights groups say 538 people have now been killed. HRANA reports arrests have surpassed 10,000.

12 January: Trump announces 25 per cent tariffs on any country doing business with Iran.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has told reporters that airstrikes are among the “many, many choices” that president Donald Trump is considering but that “diplomacy is at all times the primary choice for the president”.

Trump on Sunday said Iranian officials have reached out for talks. He has threatened to take military action against the Islamic Republic for its crackdown on the protests.

“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt mentioned.

“However, with that mentioned, the president has proven he is unafraid to make use of navy choices if and when he deems crucial, and no person is aware of that higher than Iran.”The US last year bombed Iranian nuclear sites when it inserted itself into the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

The top diplomats for Iran and Britain have traded sharp statements after speaking by phone.

UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said she told Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi that Iran must halt the violence aimed at its people.

She wrote on X that the killing and repression of peaceful protesters is “horrific”.

Araghchi responded by saying the UK ought to keep out of Iran’s inside affairs. He additionally criticised safety on the Iranian embassy in London, the place a demonstrator on Saturday scaled a wall and changed the Islamic Republic’s flag with the banner flown earlier than the Western-backed shah was overthrown in 1979.

“If the UK cannot uphold its duty to protect diplomatic missions, Iran would be left with no choice but to consider evacuating our personnel,” Araghchi mentioned.

President Donald Trump mentioned on Monday that Iran’s commerce companions will face 25 per cent tariffs from the United States as he seems to be to strain Tehran over its violent protest crackdown that is left no less than 646 lifeless throughout the nation.

The US president has repeatedly threatened Tehran with US navy motion, if his administration discovered the Islamic Republic was utilizing lethal drive in opposition to anti-government protesters.

It’s a redline that Trump says he believes Iran is “starting to cross” and has left him and his nationwide safety staff weighing “very strong options.

“Trump introduced the tariffs in a social media posting, saying they’d be “effective immediately.”

China, Brazil, Turkey and Russia are amongst economies that do enterprise with Tehran.

In New Zealand, two folks had been arrested on Tuesday throughout a protest outdoors the Iranian embassy in Wellington, authorities mentioned.

About 20 folks protested outdoors the embassy, whereas law enforcement officials monitored the state of affairs, the police mentioned in an announcement. Officers had been contemplating willful harm expenses in opposition to the pair arrested.

“Police recognise the lawful right to protest, and maintained a presence to ensure the safety of all involved,” an announcement mentioned.

Radio New Zealand reported {that a} man climbed onto a fence on the embassy to erect a pre-1979 Iranian flag, earlier than it was eliminated by somebody from contained in the embassy.

Meanwhile, overseas ministry officers in Wellington have reminded New Zealanders of recommendation that they should not journey to Iran and will go away instantly if they’re there. The advisory has been in place since November 2024.