Donald Trump said he is launching what he called 'the most crushing economic operation ever taken' against any country doing business with Iran, threatening 'tremendous' punishment on trading partners, according to the Daily Mail.

The statement, as reported, sets no timeline for action. But the language — punishing any country that helps or trades with Iran, not just Iran itself — describes the logic of secondary sanctions: measures that reach beyond the sanctioned state to hit third-country governments, banks and companies dealing with it, regardless of whether that trade touches the US financial system.

A tool with a track record

Secondary sanctions are not new for this White House. Washington built the current sanctions architecture on Iran after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal (the JCPOA) in 2018 and reimposing a 'maximum pressure' campaign aimed at cutting off Iran's oil exports and banking access — a campaign that drew protest from European allies who stayed inside the deal and kept trading with Tehran.

That history extends Wednesday's threat beyond Tehran: any government or company still trading with Iran — in Europe, Asia or elsewhere — becomes, on the face of Trump's words, a potential target.

HYPOTHESIS: the sweeping, undefined scope of the threat suggests an opening negotiating position rather than a drafted policy ready for enforcement. Supporting this: the Daily Mail report cites no legal mechanism, agency action or target list. Against this: the 2018-2019 maximum-pressure campaign began in similarly broad rhetorical terms before converting into enforced sanctions on Iranian oil buyers and their banks.
  • Whether Treasury or the State Department follows the statement with a formal sanctions designation or executive order
  • How governments still trading with Iran respond — compliance, public pushback, or attempts to shield firms from US reach
  • Any Iranian government reaction, and whether Tehran's oil exports or diplomatic posture shift in response