Negotiating through strength: Trump throws down with Iran and China

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that any country that buys oil or petrochemicals from Iran won’t be allowed to do business with the U.S.

“ALERT: All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW!” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

“Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions. They will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form,” he added.

The threat is aimed primarily at China, according to Rapidan Energy CEO Scott Modell. He explained to CNBC that China imports over one million barrels per day from Iran.

However, he also stressed that any sanctions are unlikely to change the situation with China unless the Trump administration specifically targets the country’s state-owned enterprises and infrastructure.

He also stressed that this new threat isn’t likely to affect ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

So, what then exactly is the purpose of the threat?

Modell explained that the president’s Truth Social statements “don’t signify a change in the administration’s drive to reach a new [nuclear] deal with Iran but rather underscore Trump’s belief in negotiating through strength.”

Bingo.

All this comes months after Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) ordering a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran in February.

“The NSPM directs the Secretary of the Treasury to impose maximum economic pressure on the Government of Iran, including by sanctioning or imposing enforcement mechanisms on those acting in violation of existing sanctions,” a White House fact sheet explains.

“The Attorney General will pursue all available legal steps to investigate, disrupt, and prosecute financial and logistical networks, operatives, or front groups inside the United States that are sponsored by Iran or an Iranian terror proxy,” it continues.

The maximum pressure campaign actually began during Trump’s first administration as an attempt to persuade Iranian leaders to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.

POTUS restores maximum pressure on Iran, says White Househttps://t.co/cfHOIcWLlr

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) February 17, 2025

Speaking of which, Trump’s Truth Social post was uploaded after planned talks about Iran’s nuclear program were indefinitely delayed because of “logistical reasons,” according to Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.

The Omani have been mediating the ongoing discussions between the U.S. and Iran. The latest meeting, scheduled for May 3rd, was supposed to be the fourth round of talks.

For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday May 3rd. New dates will be announced when mutually agreed.

— Badr Albusaidi – بدر البوسعيدي (@badralbusaidi) May 1, 2025

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also blamed “logistical and technical reasons” for the indefinite delay.

“On Iran’s part, there is no change in our determination to secure a negotiated solution,” he wrote on X. “We are more determined than ever to achieve a just and balanced deal: guaranteeing an end to sanctions, and creating confidence that Iran’s nuclear program will forever remain peaceful while ensuring that Iranian rights are fully respected.”

Meanwhile, U.S. forces continue to target Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis with airstrikes.

“Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X this Wednesday. “We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

As for China, on Friday, the Trump administration eliminated a loophole that’d allowed American consumers to buy cheap Chinese products without paying any tariffs.

“The loophole, called the de minimis rule, allowed products up to $800 to avoid tariffs and other red tape as long as they were shipped directly to U.S. consumers or small businesses,” according to The New York Times.

“It resulted in a surge of individually addressed packages to the United States, many shipped by air and ordered from rapidly growing e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu,” the report continued.

During a Cabinet meeting this Wednesday, Trump called the loophole an outright “scam.”

“It’s a big scam going on against our country, against really small businesses,” he said. “And we’ve ended, we put an end to it.”