Trump threatens countries aiding Iran with economic penalties

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced an intensified campaign to isolate Iran economically, threatening penalties against countries whose institutions or companies provide Tehran with financial or logistical support.

In a post on Truth Social late on Aug. 19, Trump described the initiative as “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country” and said it would involve “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.”

Trump did not specify what new restrictions would be introduced or how they would be enforced.

“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,” he wrote.

Trump called for an immediate end to oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries and front companies used to support Iran.

He said Tehran had failed to take the opportunity to reach an agreement with Washington and urged U.S. allies to join efforts to isolate the country.

Trump also asserted that Iran’s navy and air force had been destroyed, its military factories reduced to rubble and its currency rendered worthless. He provided no evidence for those claims in the post.

The measures would restrict Iran’s ability to “project terror worldwide,” Trump said.