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Trump Set to Reimpose ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran, Aims to Drive Oil Exports to Zero

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
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Trump Set to Reimpose ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran, Aims to Drive Oil Exports to Zero

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday plans to restore his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran in an effort to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and drive its oil exports down to zero, a US official said.

The move brings back the tough US policy on Iran that Trump, a Republican, practiced throughout his first term. Trump has accused his Democratic predecessor, former President Joe Biden, of weakening US resolve toward Iran.

Trump had said during his campaign that Biden's policy of not rigorously enforcing oil-export sanctions had weakened Washington and emboldened Tehran, allowing it to sell oil, accumulate cash and expand its nuclear pursuits and influence through armed militias. Iranian crude exports have shot to the highest level in years in 2024 as the country found ways to sidestep punitive sanctions targeting its revenue.

The return to the tougher approach came as Trump prepared to hold talks later on Tuesday with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump will sign a presidential memorandum that, among other things, orders the US Treasury secretary to impose "maximum economic pressure" on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions, the official said.

As part of the maximum pressure effort, the Trump administration will implement a campaign "aimed at driving Iran's oil exports to zero," the official said.

Tehran's oil exports brought in $53 billion in 2023 and $54 billion a year earlier, according to US Energy Information Administration estimates, and output during 2024 was running at its highest level since 2018, based on OPEC data.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Oil prices were mixed on Tuesday on news of Trump's plans.

The US ambassador to the United Nations will work with key allies to "complete the snap-back of international sanctions and restrictions on Iran," the official said.

Trump's first-term maximum pressure campaign sought to use vigorous sanctions to strangle Iran's economy and force the country to negotiate a deal that would hobble its nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.

The Biden administration did not materially loosen the sanctions that Trump put in place, but there is debate about how vigorously the sanctions were enforced. Britain, France and Germany told the United Nations Security Council in December that they are ready - if necessary - to trigger a so-called snap-back of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

They will lose the ability to take such action on Oct. 18 next year when a 2015 UN resolution expires. The resolution enshrines Iran's deal with Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Russia and China that lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.

Iran's UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, has said that invoking the "snap-back" of sanctions on Tehran would be "unlawful and counterproductive."

European and Iranian diplomats met in November and January to discuss whether they could work to defuse regional tensions, including over Tehran's nuclear program, before Trump returned to power.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said Iran has been "pressing the gas pedal" on its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade. Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon.

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World

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

UK police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The Thames Valley Police, an agency that covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home, said it was “assessing” reports that the former Prince Andrew sent trade reports to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2010. The assessment followed the release of millions of pages of documents connected to a US investigation of Epstein.

The police force did not name Mountbatten-Windsor, as is normal under UK law. But when asked if he had been arrested, the force pointed to a statement saying that they had arrested a man in his 60s. Mountbatten-Windsor is 66.

“Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,’’ the statement said. “It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence."

“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time,” the statement added.

Pictures circulated online appearing to show unmarked police cars at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, with plainclothes officers appearing to gather outside the home of Mountbatten-Windsor.

World

Georgia Arrests Two Foreigners Trying to Purchase Uranium

FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Georgia Arrests Two Foreigners Trying to Purchase Uranium

FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Uranium (U) element, in this illustration taken January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Georgia has ‌detained two people who attempted to purchase $3 million worth of uranium and a cache of a radioactive isotope found in nuclear weapons testing programs, the national security service said on Thursday.

Two foreign nationals from unspecified countries were arrested in the city of Kutaisi, the State Security Service said in a statement.

"They were planning to ‌illegally purchase ‌nuclear material uranium and radioactive ‌substance ⁠Cesium 137 for $3 ⁠million and illegally transport it to the territory of another country," Reuters quoted it as saying.

It said other foreigners had been arriving in Georgia in recent weeks with the aim of purchasing and transporting the nuclear and ⁠radioactive materials, without elaborating further.

The ‌statement did ‌not specify the quantity of materials the individuals were ‌attempting to procure. There were ‌no details on the substances' origin or potential destination.

Cesium 137 is a radioactive isotope present primarily in the aftermath of nuclear weapons testing ‌and nuclear power plant accidents such as the Chernobyl disaster in ⁠then-Soviet ⁠Ukraine in 1986.

The security of nuclear materials was one of the biggest concerns after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, of which Georgia was part. There have been several serious incidents involving the illicit trade in nuclear materials in Georgia over recent decades.

Most recently, three Chinese citizens were arrested in the capital Tbilisi for attempting to purchase two kilograms of "nuclear material" uranium.

World

Former South Korean President Yoon Receives Life Sentence for Imposing Martial Law

FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Former South Korean President Yoon Receives Life Sentence for Imposing Martial Law

FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, 23 January 2025. JEON HEON-KYUN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law in a dramatic culmination to the country’s biggest political crisis in decades.

Yoon was ousted from office after a baffling attempt to overcome an opposition-controlled legislature by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the National Assembly on Dec. 3, 2024, The Associated Press said.

Judge Jee Kui-youn of the Seoul Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a “considerable” time.

Martial law crisis recalled dictatorial past Yoon’s martial law imposition, the first of its kind in more than four decades, harkened back to South Korea’s past military-backed governments when authorities occasionally proclaimed emergency decrees that allowed them to station soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles on streets or at public places such as schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.

As lawmakers rushed to the National Assembly, Yoon’s martial law command issued a proclamation declaring sweeping powers, including suspending political activities, controlling the media and publications, and allowing arrests without warrants.

The decree lasted about six hours before being lifted after a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through a military blockade and unanimously voted to lift the measure.

Yoon was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after being impeached by lawmakers and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He has been under arrest since last July while facing multiple criminal trials, with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe punishment.

Yoon's lawyers reject conviction Yoon Kap-keun, one of the former president’s lawyers, accused Jee of issuing a “predetermined verdict” based solely on prosecutors’ arguments and said the “rule of law” had collapsed. He said he would discuss whether to appeal with his client and the rest of the legal team.

Yoon Suk Yeol told the court the martial law decree was only meant to raise public awareness of how the liberals were paralyzing state affairs, and that he was prepared to respect lawmakers if they voted against the measure.

Prosecutors said it was clear Yoon was attempting to disable the legislature and prevent lawmakers from lifting the measure through voting, actions that exceeded his constitutional authority even under martial law.

In announcing Yoon and Kim’s verdicts, Jee said the decision to send troops to the National Assembly was key to his determination that the imposition of martial law amounted to rebellion.

“This court finds that the purpose of (Yoon’s) actions was to send troops to the National Assembly, block the Assembly building and arrest key figures, including the National Assembly speaker and the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, in order to prevent lawmakers from gathering to deliberate or vote,” Jee said. “It’s sufficiently established that he intended to obstruct or paralyze the Assembly’s activities so that it would be unable to properly perform its functions for a considerable period of time.”

Protesters rally outside court

As Yoon arrived in court, hundreds of police officers watched closely as Yoon supporters rallied outside a judicial complex, their cries rising as the prison bus transporting him drove past. Yoon’s critics gathered nearby, demanding the death penalty.

There were no immediate reports of major clashes following the verdict.

A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon Suk Yeol, saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available, but most analysts expected a life sentence since the poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties.

South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.

Other officials sentenced for enforcing martial law

The court also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon’s martial law decree, including ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year jail term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilizing the military.

Last month, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for resisting arrest, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring the measure.

The Seoul Central Court has also convicted two members of Yoon’s Cabinet in other cases. That includes Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who received a 23-year prison sentence for attempting to legitimize the decree by forcing it through a Cabinet Council meeting, falsifying records and lying under oath. Han has appealed the verdict.

Yoon is the first former South Korean president to receive a life sentence since former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for his 1979 coup, a bloody 1980 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Gwangju that left more than 200 people dead or missing, and corruption.

The Supreme Court later reduced his sentence to life imprisonment, and he was released in late 1997 under a special presidential pardon. He died in 2021.