Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump has said he will launch tougher economic measures against Iran, as well as any country and that helps or does business with the country.
He wrote in all capital letters on Truth Social that he was launching “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country”, but gave no further details and did not name any other nation apart from Iran.
It comes after a 60-day ceasefire with Iran expired on Monday, with no sign of a diplomatic or military off-ramp to the conflict that the US and Israel began at the end of February.
Trump’s latest move appears to extend the US campaign of economic pressure, launched in April to sanction foreign banks or firms that do business with Tehran.
“ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” Trump said.
He did not specify what punishment countries might face.
Trump continued: “Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies – It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are.”
It comes a day after the United Arab Emirates, a US ally, announced it would be severing all financial and economic ties with Iran, following a new missile threat from the country.
The UAE’s defence ministry said it had detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran targeting maritime traffic, both of which landed in the sea.
Iranian entities have long used Dubai’s financial system to transfer money through exchange houses and shell companies.
Following the UAE’s decision, Iran’s armed forces warned neighbouring Gulf countries against providing support to the US military, saying any assistance given to US forces would be considered collusion.
While China was not named in the post, businesses there are the biggest buyers of oil from Iran, a key source of Tehran’s funding.
Since the start of the war, Washington has sanctioned several so-called teapot refineries – privately owned oil processing plants, mostly based in Shandong province, eastern China.
At the time, China’s Ministry of Commerce said the sanctions were “in violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations”.
It also issued an order stipulating that the sanctions “shall not be recognised, enforced, or complied with”.
The BBC has contacted the Chinese embassy in Washington for comment in response to Trump’s latest post.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would soon impose economic isolation on Iran “like the world has never seen before”.
In April, the US treasury department and the Pentagon announced Operation Economic Fury.
It aimed to dismantle Iran’s revenue streams through sanctions and by stopping foreign international entities doing business with Iran. It also included a naval blockade to stop exports from the Islamic Republic.
The BBC has asked the White House and US treasury department for comment.
Earlier this week, Trump also reportedly threatened to bomb Oman – a US ally – if it “gets in the way” of his administration’s own talks with Iran, during a phone interview with a Fox News reporter.
The US and Oman have been negotiating separately with Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that is vital to the global economy.
The conflict has significantly disrupted traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route, pushing up global energy prices.
Around 20% of the world’s crude oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) usually passes through the strait.
Ahead of the US midterm elections in November, Trump faces pressure over how much the war is costing American consumers.
