Trump: "Iran's 'Maximum Pressure' Resumption Makes Nuclear Weapons Possession Impossible"... Plans "Timely Call" with Xi Jinping

"Maximum Pressure on Iran": Presidential Memorandum Signed
Treasury Ordered to Block Iran's Oil Exports
On Iran Assassination Attempt: "They Will Be Obliterated"
On China's Retaliatory Tariffs: "That's Fine"... "No Rush for a Call"

U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Iran cannot possess nuclear weapons and resumed the 'maximum pressure' campaign against Iran. He also ordered Iran's oil exports to be reduced to 'zero.' Additionally, he issued a warning that if Iran attempts an assassination, it will be obliterated. With the launch of his second term, Trump plans to restore the hardline stance against Iran from his first term, escalating pressure on Iran to an extreme level.

On the 4th (local time), President Trump signed a presidential memorandum in the Oval Office at the White House, focusing on the resumption of maximum pressure against Iran. This signing took place ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the same day.

The memorandum signed by President Trump directs the Treasury Department to apply the highest level of economic pressure on Iran and to strengthen responses if Iran violates existing sanctions. It also includes instructions to the Treasury and State Departments to implement a campaign to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero. The intention is to block Iran's financial lifeline from oil exports to prevent nuclear weapons development. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Iran earned $53 billion annually from oil exports as of 2023.

At the signing ceremony, President Trump told reporters, "I am signing this, but I hope we do not have to use it very much." He emphasized, "Iran cannot have nuclear weapons," and added, "I hope negotiations with Iran succeed so that everyone can live together."

When asked what would happen if Iran attempted an assassination, he replied, "I have given instructions," and said, "If they do that, there will be nothing left of them (obliterate)." Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in November last year that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had plotted to assassinate President Trump.

President Trump has previously indicated that he would restore the maximum pressure policy from his first term regarding Iran. During his first term in 2018, he unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) pursued by the Obama administration and reinstated high-level sanctions on Iran. Trump believes that the Biden administration's easing of sanctions on Iran led to Iran's progress in nuclear weapons development and the attacks on Israel by Hamas, a Palestinian armed group supported by Iran.

Meanwhile, amid the start of the second U.S.-China trade war, President Trump said he would "not rush" a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping and would speak at an appropriate time. When asked about China's retaliatory tariffs, he responded, "That's fine."

Earlier, under an executive order signed by President Trump on the 1st, the U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports starting at midnight on the 4th, on top of existing tariffs. China immediately retaliated by imposing 15% tariffs on U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and 10% tariffs on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and automobiles. Currently, the U.S. and China are arranging a schedule for a call between the two leaders.