Trump freezes Iran engagement, imposes tariffs

Washington, Jan 14 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) US President Donald Trump said he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials, imposed new tariff penalties linked to Iran, and urged protesters in the country to continue demonstrations against what he called abuses by its leadership.

Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump said the decision to halt diplomatic engagement was tied to violence against protesters in Iran. “I’ve cancelled all meetings with the Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters stops,” he said.

He addressed what he called “Iranian patriots,” urging them to persist in protests and document those responsible for violence. “To all Iranian patriots, keep protesting,” Trump said. “Take over your institutions if possible and save the names of the killers and the abusers.”

Trump said reports on deaths in Iran varied, but insisted accountability would follow. “I hear five different sets of numbers,” he said. “One death is too much.” He warned those responsible for violence that consequences would come.

“Save their names because they’ll pay a very big price,” Trump said.

Trump said new economic pressure had already taken effect, targeting Iran through trade measures. “You saw that I put tariffs on anybody doing business with Iran,” he said. “Just went into effect today.”

He described tariffs as a central tool of his foreign policy and said they were being used to isolate Iran economically. Trump also used the phrase “make Iran great again,” while criticizing the country’s current leadership.

“It’s a great country until these monsters came in and took it over,” he said.

He said the situation in Iran was fragile and warned that similar conditions could have spread elsewhere under previous leadership in the United States. “I’m telling you if I didn’t win this election, this would have happened to us,” Trump said.

Trump said he believed outside pressure would help bring change. “All I say to them is help is on its way,” he said.

He linked tariffs on Iran to broader trade policy, saying economic pressure had been effective against other countries. Trump said tariffs were a preferred alternative to prolonged military conflict.

“Without trade and tariffs, you wouldn’t have been able to end any of them,” he said, referring to past conflicts he said were resolved during his leadership.

He grouped Iran with other foreign policy actions he described as successful, including operations against militant leaders and strikes on nuclear facilities. “We did the Iran nuclear attack,” Trump said. “We wiped out their nuclear capacity.”

Trump said tariffs were also being applied to countries that resisted US demands on trade and security. “If you don’t do it, then I’m going to put a tariff on you,” he said, describing how he pressured governments during negotiations.

He argued that tariffs created leverage that diplomacy alone could not achieve. “The tariffs are going to be 20 times more than the cost,” Trump said.

Trump criticised what he called reluctance within the US political system to fully back such measures, saying legal challenges were under way.

“You have the Supreme Court now going to rule on whether or not we can use tariffs,” he said. He accused opponents of being “foreign centric” and “China centric,” arguing that tariffs were essential to national security.

Trump said the pressure campaign against Iran was part of a wider effort to restore US strength abroad. “Our country was laughed at,” he said. “Now we’re respected again.”

The United States and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations for decades, and tensions have frequently spiked over Iran’s nuclear programme, regional influence and human rights record. US sanctions and trade restrictions have long been a core feature of Washington’s Iran policy.

Tariffs and secondary sanctions have been used by successive US administrations as tools to pressure Tehran without direct military engagement.

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