Trump orders immediate halt to Iranian oil trade, warns of sanctions
Donald Trump announced on social media that "all purchases of Iranian oil and petrochemical products must be halted immediately." He warned that any country breaching the ban would face "secondary sanctions."
Trump made his announcement on the platform truthsocial.com.
"ALERT: All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW! 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter, PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP," Trump wrote.
He further stated that such "countries or individuals" will not be able to "conduct any business with the United States".
In his post, Trump did not provide reasons for this radical approach.
US-Iranian talks have been postponed
On Thursday, the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that US-Iranian talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, due to take place in the country, will not be held as planned on Saturday, 3rd May.
The change was attributed to "logistical reasons."
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed journalists that the postponement of the talks was suggested by the Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs. Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghei assured that Iran aims to reach a "fair and lasting agreement" and will participate "seriously and decisively" in "results-oriented negotiations," as reported by the Iranian agency IRNA.
Earlier, the American portal Axios hinted at the possibility of delaying the fourth round of Iranian-American talks, mainly concerning Tehran's nuclear programme and sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran, by a few days. The portal, citing several sources, indicated that the talks would most likely be postponed until next week.
