Trump Threatens 50% Tariffs On Countries Supplying Military Weapons To Iran

• President Trump also stated that the U.S. will be talking to Iran about relief from tariffs and sanctions.
• Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday highlighted that the U.S. dismantled Iran’s military in less than 40 days of Operation Epic Fury.
• He said the U.S. has completely destroyed Iran’s defense industrial base, while adding that it can no longer build missiles.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to levy 50% tariffs on countries supplying military weapons to Iran, hours after a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was announced.

“A Country supplying Military Weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50%, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!” he said in a post on Truth Social.

The U.S. President also stated in another post that there will be no uranium enrichment in Iran and that the United States will work closely with the country.

“We are, and will be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been agreed to,” he added.

The relief rally following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire announcement spurred global equity markets, with Asian markets rallying the most as easing tensions led to a slump in crude oil prices. 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures maturing in May tumbled about 18%, falling to $93 per barrel. Brent crude futures maturing in June fell more than 16%, hovering at $91 per barrel.

The United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) declined about 14%, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) was down more than 11% at the time of writing.

Hegseth Touts Dismantling Iran’s Military In Less Than 40 Days

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday highlighted that the U.S. dismantled Iran’s military in less than 40 days of Operation Epic Fury.

“The world's leading state sponsor of terrorism proved utterly incapable of defending itself, its people, or its territory. We untied just a fraction of our strength, and Iran suffered a devastating military defeat,” he said.

Hegseth also said that the U.S. has completely destroyed Iran’s defense industrial base, while adding that it can no longer build missiles.

Iran To Take A Cautious Approach To Peace Talks With US

According to a Reuters report, Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Ali Bahreini, stated that the country will approach peace talks with the U.S. cautiously.

“We are not putting ​any trust in the other side. Our military forces are keeping their preparedness...but ‌meanwhile, ⁠we will go for negotiations to see how serious the other side is,” Bahreini said, according to the report.

Bahreini also added that due to the joint attacks launched by the U.S. and Israel on Iran amid nuclear talks in Geneva in February, everything, including the current arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, is temporary.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, gained 2.6%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) surged 3.4%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) rose 2.9%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘bearish’ territory.

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