Trump threatens Iran’s partners: How do secondary sanctions work? - Al Jazeera

**Trump Threatens Iran’s Partners: How Secondary Sanctions Work**

Washington has once again raised the stakes on Tehran by warning that any foreign firm or individual that continues to do business with Iran could face “secondary” sanctions. In a series of remarks released to the press, former President Donald Trump signaled that the United States would expand its punitive reach beyond American entities, targeting third‑party countries that help sustain Iran’s economy. The threat comes amid a renewed push to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and its support for regional militias, and it is being amplified by a deteriorating Iranian currency—one U.S. dollar now fetches roughly 2 million rials, according to Al Jazeera’s latest market report.

Secondary sanctions are administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and operate by cutting off non‑U.S. actors from the global financial system. When a foreign company is deemed to have facilitated a prohibited transaction with Iran, OFAC can freeze any U.S.-linked assets, bar the firm from U.S. banking services, and prohibit U.S. persons from dealing with it. The mechanism has already been invoked this month: NDTV reported that the United States sanctioned four India‑based firms and three Indian nationals for allegedly providing technology and services that helped Iran evade existing restrictions. These measures illustrate how the U.S. leverages its dominant role in international finance to compel compliance, even among countries that are not directly bound by the primary sanctions regime.

The ripple effects are already being felt in Asia. While India’s rice exporters hope to continue shipments to Iran under humanitarian exemptions, the specter of secondary penalties forces many firms to reassess risk, as highlighted by *The Times of India*. Meanwhile, *The Hindu* notes that China, Iran’s largest trading partner, presents a formidable challenge to Washington’s strategy; Beijing’s deep financial ties and relative immunity from U.S. banking pressure limit the reach of secondary sanctions. Indian policymakers are therefore walking a tightrope—balancing the need to safeguard food supplies for Iran against the risk of being black‑listed by the United States, a dilemma that underscores the broader geopolitical contest over Iran’s economy.