US President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One on January 11, 2026. Photo: VCG

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that countries that do business with Iran will face a 25 percent tariff when doing business with the US, after claiming last night that he is looking at a number of "very strong" options to hit Iran for its handling of the protests. 

A Chinese expert said the US' tariff measures will not only exacerbate Iran's economic crisis but bring shockwaves to the already-sluggish global economy. What's more, the move will solidify the US' international image of arbitrarily abusing power, further dampen the enthusiasm for capital inflows. 

Trump announced the decision in a social media post on Monday, claiming that it was "final and conclusive," but offering few additional details. "Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America," Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social.

It is not clear which countries might be affected, but major economies such as Russia, China, Brazil and Turkey all trade with Iran. Iraq and the United Arab Emirates are also important trading partners, according to the database Trading Economics, Al Jazeera reported.

According to media reports on Tuesday, the US Embassy in Iran has issued an urgent directive for all American citizens to evacuate the country immediately, citing escalating protests that could potentially turn violent, leading to arrests and injuries.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on Tehran and threatened further military strikes on the country, should it fail to abide by US demands to wind down its nuclear and military programs

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed Monday diplomacy remains the preferred approach for the US to deal with Iran, though the Trump administration will not rule out military options if necessary. 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Iran is ready to engage in nuclear talks with the US, "provided that it is without threats or dictates."

"If Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it," Araghchi added, referring to US bombings carried out on three nuclear sites in Iran in June 2025.

Zhu Yongbiao, the executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University, said the US' latest tariff measures could further exacerbate Iran's economic crisis. Currently mired in a systemic crisis, Iran faces economic distress and sustained outbreaks of national governance contradictions amid suppressions by the US, Israel and other countries.

"Under such context, the tariffs may impact Iran in two ways: directly weakening its external economic ties, exacerbating the economic crisis; indirectly impacting and further undermining its governance structure and system," Zhu told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Zhu noted that the US intensive pressure on Iran is likely stimulated by the "success" of the Venezuela strike, attempting to replicate a similar model at lower cost and lower risk. 

However, US' tariff measures will ultimately exert significant backlash on itself, the expert noted. "The global economic growth is already sluggish, coupled with the impact of various geopolitical conflicts and US policy uncertainty. By continuously implementing tariff measures, the US is eroding the foundation of global economic growth, which not only brings multiple negative impacts to the global economy but also causes shocks to its own."

According to the expert, this is specifically reflected in three aspects: first, exacerbating global geopolitical volatility, weakening confidence in global economic recovery, directly impacting the energy pattern and triggering price fluctuations. Sharp swings in energy prices will shake countries' expectations and confidence in economic growth, and the US cannot remain unscathed; second, directly threatening the energy security of US allies such as European countries and indirectly increasing their economic cost burdens.

Third, the move will solidify the US' international image of arbitrarily abusing power, and its consistent practice of provoking geopolitical conflicts and interfering in other countries' internal affairs around the world will dampen the enthusiasm for capital inflows, the expert said.

Tens of thousands of pro-government Iranians flooded the streets on Monday, answering an official call to show solidarity with the state. As state media broadcast images of sprawling crowds at Tehran's Enghelab Square, Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi declared that the internal situation is now "under total control," the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The pro-government demonstrations, which also took place in cities such as Kerman, Zahedan, and Birjand, were characterized by state broadcasters as a "popular uprising against American-Zionist terrorism." In Shahrud, the rallies coincided with a funeral for security personnel killed during recent unrest. 

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei described the gatherings as a stern warning to US politicians to "halt their deceitful actions and stop relying on their traitorous hirelings," according to Xinhua.

Iran's foreign ministry has summoned the envoys of Britain, Germany, France, and Italy after their governments expressed support for the protests, the semi-official Tasnim reported. Officials presented the envoys with "video evidence of violent acts by rioters," saying the incidents went beyond peaceful demonstrations, and urged the diplomats to relay the footage to their foreign ministers and retract statements backing the protests.