US President Donald Trump has threatened countries doing business with Iran with a 25 per cent tariff on trade with America, following deadly anti-government protests that have left over 600 people dead.
The threat, which was offered with little detail, comes days after The New York Times reported that President Trump had been briefed on new options for military strikes against Iran, citing anonymous US officials.
In response to the threat, China, Iran’s largest trading partner, said it “will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests”.
Deadly protests erupted in Tehran, the Iranian capital, on December 28, 2025, after shopkeepers took to the streets over a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, against the US dollar.
The rial has sunk to a record low over the past year, and inflation has soared — meaning everyday items like cooking oil and meat have risen to crippling prices.
The economy has been weakened by government mismanagement and corruption, as well as sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Protests spread to other cities alongside wider calls for political change. According to the US-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency, demonstrations have taken place in at least 186 cities and towns across all of Iran’s provinces.
Since then, hundreds of protesters have been killed and thousands injured, according to human rights groups. But a digital blackout has stopped most Iranians from contacting the outside world, with millions cut off from internet access, making it difficult to verify information.
In recent days, US President Donald Trump has threatened military intervention.
On Saturday, Trump wrote on social media that “Iran is looking at freedom, perhaps like never before”, adding that the US “stands ready to help”.
Although Trump is reportedly yet to make a final decision, anonymous officials told The New York Times that “he was seriously considering authorising a strike in response to the Iranian regime’s efforts to suppress demonstrations set off by widespread economic grievances”.
– Additional reporting by Agencies
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