US President Donald Trump has announced a new list of tariffs on Iran, as he targets Iran as a result of their violent suppression of demonstrators.
The ex president who aspires to regain his seat in the White House stated that the move was meant to penalize the Iranian government based on its use of lethal force against civilians as well as limit any funds that could be directed to its security agencies.
The move comes as Iran faces international monitoring once again after dozens of deaths arose in connection with demonstrations.
At an electoral rally, Trump told constituents that the proposed tariffs were not only an economic issue but were in fact an issue with global implications in relation to Iran’s actions.
The president did not provide information regarding the list of commodities that would be affected by the trade measure but hinted that it would only target sectors that are related to state power.
Iran has experienced various waves of protests in the past years largely stemming from difficult economic, political and societal conditions.
Trump’s announcement brings home how Iranian policy is becoming an increasingly polarized issue within US politics ahead of the presidential election scheduled to take place this year.
While the current Biden government has kept in place current sanctions and introduced targeted ones against persons accused of human rights abuses, it still keeps the door open to some form of diplomacy.
Trump announced he will end this policy in favor of maximum pressure. On the Australian front, the potential short term economic effects are not expected to be large.
The two way trade between Australia and Iran has been modest, although severely affected by the sanctions that have been imposed on Iran so far.
This development can be considered as a contributor to the volatility that has been caused by the Middle East tensions energy supply risks and US trade policies.
Analysts say that the imposed tariffs could increase the chances of complications and the hardening of positions from both sides making the Iranians less willing to show restraint from within their own country.
It could also increase the complications of working together concerning various areas like the monitoring of nuclear activities and the release of prisoners and security within the area.
Trump however, said that the pain must be justified and attributed his move to his previous term in which wide ranging sanctions and the rapid contraction of the Iranian economy occurred simultaneously.
In response, Iranian state media has described the announcement as political theater, claiming that the Iranian government is simply using unrest for political gain.
Iranian officials have stated in the past that sanctions will only cause them to integrate their economies further with non Western economies.
As yet, little information has come to light and it is unclear whether Trump’s plan would even need legislative support or if he were to come to power would he use presidential powers and so forth.
What is clear, however is that the homeland repression in Iran has once again found itself at the forefront of international trade and security discussions.
