Iran slams US pressure campaign after Trump threatens oil buyers

Iran dismissed the latest wave of US sanctions on Friday, declaring that Washington’s pressure campaign against countries doing business with Tehran would not force any change in its policies.

“The continuation of these illegal behaviors will not change Iran's logical, legitimate and international law-based positions,” read a statement from Iran’s foreign ministry, following fresh threats from US President Donald Trump to impose penalties on anyone purchasing Iranian oil or petrochemicals.

The statement criticized what it described as American attempts to intimidate Iran's economic partners, saying such moves “have created deep suspicion and mistrust about the seriousness of America on the path of diplomacy.”

Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Thursday with a stark warning: “All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW!” He continued, “Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions.”

The renewed threats come as a planned fourth round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington was postponed. Mediator Oman cited “logistical reasons” for the delay and said a new date would be announced once both parties agree.

The two countries have already held three rounds of indirect negotiations since April 12, marking the highest level of engagement between them on nuclear matters since 2018—when Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal.

Before the latest talks were derailed, Trump had reportedly sent a message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in March, urging a return to the negotiating table while warning of potential military action should diplomacy collapse.

Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has reinstated his administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign, including sanctions announced earlier this week targeting seven companies accused of facilitating the transport of Iranian oil.

Tensions over Iran’s nuclear ambitions have continued to rise since the US withdrawal from the 2015 accord, which had offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. Though Iran initially continued to honor the deal, it began reducing compliance a year later.

Western governments have repeatedly accused Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons—an allegation the Islamic Republic denies, maintaining that its nuclear activities are for peaceful civilian use only.