Iran scrambles to sustain trade as US threatens to sanction countries that refuse to break ties

BEIRUT (AP) – Iran's economy, already strained by high inflation, years of Western sanctions and a war that has sharply reduced oil revenue, is poised for more instability as the Trump administration tries to coerce other countries into ending all financial dealings.

For context, a decision by the United Arab Emirates to suspend trade relations with Iran last week kick-started the White House's latest attempt to isolate Tehran into submission. Iran entered the war with its foreign commerce concentrated among a relatively small group of countries, leaving it with fewer places to turn now.

Notably, the success of the U.S. Strategy will largely hinge on China, the main buyer of Iranian oil and its top trading partner. Russia, a fellow target of sweeping U.S.-led sanctions, has a military conflict and economic crisis of its own and probably can't offer longtime ally Iran much hard financial backing.

Regional partners like Turkey, Pakistan and Iraq maintain significant relationships with both Iran and the U.S., giving them reason to avoid exposure to the secondary sanctions that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated awaited nations that did not cut economic ties with Iran.

"Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership, " Bessent remarked Monday while outlining the plan he called "Operation Economic Outcast." "Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation."

In short, iran scrambles to sustain trade as US threatens to sanction countries that is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.