[🇮🇷] Protests in Iran

[🇮🇷] Protests in Iran
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Trump signs order preparing for tariffs on Iran's trade partners

AFP Washington
Published: 07 Feb 2026, 13: 54

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US President Donald Trump and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. AFP

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order threatening tariffs on Iran's trade partners, after he pledged a further round of talks with Tehran next week.

The order, effective from Saturday, called for a fresh "imposition of tariffs" on countries still doing business with Iran.

It comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with an American naval group led by an aircraft carrier in Middle Eastern waters and indirect talks held on Tehran's nuclear program in Oman on Friday.

The levies "may be imposed on goods imported into the United States that are products of any country that directly or indirectly purchases, imports, or otherwise acquires any goods or services from Iran", the order said.

Trump issued a threat of 25 per cent tariffs on any country trading with Iran last month. This order establishes a process for his administration to impose tariffs on goods from those countries.

The rate is to be determined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, although the order specifies that it could be "for example" 25 per cent, the level first mentioned by the US president in mid-January.

Tariffs would affect trade with a number of countries including Russia, Germany, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

More than a quarter of Iran's trade is with China, with USD 18 billion in imports and USD 14.5 billion in exports in 2024, according to World Trade Organization data.

The talks on Friday in Muscat, mediated by Oman, were the first between the two foes since the United States joined Israel's war with Iran in June with strikes on nuclear sites.

"We likewise had very good talks on Iran," Trump told reporters on board Air Force One en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, adding, "we're going to meet again early next week."

Diplomatic relations between Iran and the US broke down with the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought the current government into power after hostages were taken at the US embassy in Tehran for 444 days. Direct engagement has been rare in the decades since.

Iran remains under an internet blackout amid a harsh government crackdown on economic protests that began in December across the country.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Friday it has confirmed 6,505 protesters were killed, as well as 214 members of the security forces and 61 bystanders.​
 

Son of Iran's last shah urges US military intervention in Iran

REUTERS
Published :
Feb 14, 2026 19:16
Updated :
Feb 14, 2026 19:16

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Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah and an Iranian opposition figure, speaks during the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, February 13, 2026. Photo : REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/Files

Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi on Saturday said US military intervention in Iran could save lives and urged President Donald Trump's administration not to spend too long negotiating with Tehran's clerical rulers on a nuclear deal.

The exiled son of Iran's toppled shah told Reuters in an interview that there were signs that the Iranian government was on the brink of collapse and that an attack could weaken it or accelerate its fall.

Pahlavi was speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where officials from the Iranian government are banned.

"It's a matter of time. We are hoping that this attack will expedite the process and the people can be finally back in the streets and take it all the way to the ultimate regime's downfall," said Pahlavi, who is based in the United States and has lived outside Iran since before his father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

A campaign of mass arrests and intimidation has led to the arrests of thousands as Iranian authorities seek to deter further protests after last month's crackdown on the bloodiest unrest since 1979. The protests began on December 28 as a modest demonstration in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic hardship and quickly spread nationwide.

TRUMP HAS QUESTIONED LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR PAHLAVI

Iran's opposition is fragmented among rival groups and ideological factions - including the monarchists who back Pahlavi - and appears to have little organized presence inside the Islamic Republic. In an interview with Reuters last month, Trump sounded skeptical about the level of Pahlavi's support inside Iran.

The Trump administration has engaged with Iran to see if a nuclear deal can be struck as Washington amassed military forces in the region. US and Iranian diplomats held talks in Oman last week and further talks in the coming week are expected.

"People are hoping that at some point the decision will be made that there's no use, there's no point, we're not going to get anywhere with negotiations. Therefore, that's time for the United States to intervene and do what President Trump promised he will do, to have the people's back," Pahlavi said.

"Intervention is a way to save lives," he added.

On Friday, in a speech to US troops in North Carolina, Trump said Iran has been difficult in nuclear negotiations and suggested that instilling fear in Tehran may be necessary to resolve the standoff peacefully.

Two US officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told Reuters on Friday that the US military was preparing for the possibility of a sustained, weeks-long operation against Iran if Trump ordered an attack.​
 
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