Trump threatens sanctions against buyers of Iranian oil after US-Iran nuclear talks are postponed

DUBAI United Arab Emirates AP President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened sanctions on anyone who buys Iranian oil a warning that came after planned talks over Tehran s rapidly advancing nuclear effort were postponed Trump wrote on social media All purchases of Iranian Oil or Petrochemical products must stop NOW He declared any country or person who buys those products from Iran will not be able to do business with the United States in any way shape or form It was unclear how Trump would implement such a ban as he threatened to levy secondary sanctions on nations that import Iranian oil But his announcement risked further escalating tensions with China Iran s leading customer at a time when the relationship is severely strained over the U S president s tariffs Based on tanker tracking facts the U S Force Information Administration concluded in a summary published last October that China took nearly of Iran s crude oil and condensate exports in Trump has separately placed tariffs on China as a way to raise federal revenues and rebalance global contract Trump s social media threat came after Oman declared planned nuclear negotiations for this coming weekend had been postponed Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi made the announcement in a post on the social platform X For logistical reasons we are rescheduling the US Iran meeting provisionally planned for Saturday May rd he wrote New dates will be disclosed when mutually agreed Al-Busaidi who has mediated the talks through three rounds so far did not elaborate Iran s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also blamed logistical and technical reasons for the postponement On Iran s part there is no change in our determination to secure a negotiated resolution he wrote on X We are more determined than ever to achieve a just and balanced deal guaranteeing an end to sanctions and creating confidence that Iran s nuclear project will forever remain peaceful while ensuring that Iranian rights are fully respected Meanwhile a person familiar with the U S negotiators revealed America had never verified its participation in a fourth round of talks in Rome However the person reported the U S expected the talks to occur in the near future The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations Rome will see the Vatican begin its conclave next week to pick a new pope after the death of Pope Francis Two other rounds of U S -Iran talks have been held in Muscat the capital of Oman The talks seek to limit Iran s nuclear effort in exchange for the lifting of specific of the crushing economic sanctions the U S has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on a half-century of enmity The negotiations have been led by Araghchi and U S Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff Trump has repeatedly threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran s venture if a deal isn t reached Iranian officers increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels The U S president with his threat on social media would be going after Iran s major economic reserve It produced an average of million barrels a day in of crude oil according to the Potential Information Administration Iran s nuclear deal with world powers did limit Tehran s effort However Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in setting in motion years of attacks and tensions The wider Middle East also remains on edge over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip Meanwhile the U S continues an airstrike campaign called Operation Rough Rider that has been targeting Yemen s Houthi rebels who long have been backed by Iran U S Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth early Thursday warned Iran over the rebels Message to IRAN We see your LETHAL promotion to The Houthis We know exactly what you are doing he wrote You know very well what the U S Military is capable of and you were warned You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing Last Saturday s round of talks which included experts drilling down into the details of a manageable deal also took place as an explosion rocked an Iranian port killing at least people and injuring more than others Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran Iran and Matthew Lee and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this assessment Source