U.S. President Donald Trump is renewing his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, aiming to cut the country’s oil exports to zero. At the same time, he has expressed a willingness to negotiate a new nuclear agreement that would allow Iran to grow peacefully, as long as it does not develop nuclear weapons.
“I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper. We should start working on it immediately,” President Trump said on Truth Social, a day after he reintroduced the “maximum pressure” campaign.
In his post, Trump also dismissed rumors of military escalation, stating, “Reports that the United States, working with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.”
Trump’s administration previously withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018. This move was followed by the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, significantly reducing the country’s oil exports. However, over 1 million barrels per day (bpd) still reach the market, largely through covert methods involving shadow fleet tankers and obscure trade networks.
China has become the largest buyer of Iran’s oil since the U.S. withdrawal. Private Chinese refiners, known as “teapots,” benefit from cheap, discounted Iranian crude, which is largely ignored by other countries due to sanctions.
Trump’s renewed campaign aims to disrupt this Iran-China trade. A National Security Presidential Memorandum issued this week directed the Secretary of State to review or revoke sanctions waivers, particularly those that provide Iran with economic relief, including the Chabahar port project.
The memorandum also instructed the Secretary of State to work with other U.S. agencies to drive Iran’s oil exports, including shipments to China, down to zero.
Iran’s Oil Minister, Mohsen Paknejad, criticized the sanctions, saying they were destabilizing the global oil and energy markets and hurting consumers worldwide.
In the same week that Trump restored the “maximum pressure” strategy, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on an international network facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China. The network was linked to Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) and its sanctioned front company, Sepehr Energy.
The sanctions targeted entities and individuals in multiple countries, including China, India, and the UAE, as well as several vessels involved in the oil trade.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said, “The Iranian regime continues to use its oil revenues to fund its nuclear program, develop ballistic missiles, and support terrorist groups in the region.”
Despite these actions, oil prices have been falling recently, partly due to concerns over global economic growth linked to the Trump administration’s tariff threats.
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