President Trump Asks For Iran's Oil Purchase To Be Stopped Or Subject To US Sanctions

Oil tanker illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/US Navy/Mate 2nd Class Andrew M. Meyers)

JAKARTA - United States President Donald Trump said all purchases of Iran's petrochemical oil or products must be stopped and any country or person buying oil or petrochemical products from the country will soon be subject to secondary sanctions.

"They will not be allowed to do business with the United States in any way, shape, or appearance," he wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

President Trump's comments followed the postponement of the latest US negotiations with Iran regarding his nuclear program, which was supposed to take place in Rome on Saturday.

A senior Iranian official told a new date would be set "depending on the US approach."

The administration of President Trump has targeted Tehran with a series of sanctions on entities, including China-based crude storage terminals and independent distillers accused of involvement in oil and petrochemical illicit trade.

In February, President Trump reimposed a "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran that included efforts to suppress its oil exports to zero and helped prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Secondary sanctions are sanctions imposed on a country seeking to punish a second country for trading with a third country by blocking access to its own market, which is a very powerful tool for the United States given its economic magnitude.

Analysts say, to take full action against Iranian oil exports, the US must impose secondary sanctions on entities such as Chinese banks facilitating the purchase of Iranian oil. China is the largest buyer of Iranian crude oil.