US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Iran's trading partners amid tensions with the country, DPA and Reuters reported.
An executive order issued by Trump on Friday (US time) states that additional tariffs “may be imposed on goods imported into the United States that are products of any country that directly or indirectly purchases, imports or otherwise acquires goods or services from Iran“.
The US president did not name specific countries, but gave 25 percent as an example of a possible tariff. The order establishes a system that will allow such additional tariffs to be imposed on Iran's trading partners, the White House said.
The order comes at a time of tension between Iran and the United States, which began talks this week on Iran's nuclear program.
Just hours after the first round of talks in the Omani capital of Muscat, the United States announced it was imposing new oil sanctions on Tehran.
Donald Trump has stepped up his threats of potential military intervention in Iran after the bloody crackdown on protests in late December and early January and has deployed large naval forces to the Persian Gulf.
Before leaving Washington for Florida for the weekend, the US president described the talks with Iran as "very good" and indicated that they will continue next week.
The Pentagon announced on Friday (US time) that it is severing its ties with Harvard University, ending all military training, scholarships and certificate programs with the Ivy League institution, the Associated Press reported.
This is the latest development in the conflict between the administration of President Donald Trump and Harvard University over the White House's demands for reforms at the educational institution.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a statement that Harvard “no longer meets the needs of the Department of Defense or the military services“.
“For too long, this department has sent its best and brightest officers to Harvard, hoping that the university would understand and appreciate our fighting class,“ Hegseth said. "Instead, too many of our officers have returned looking too much like Harvard - with heads full of globalist and radical ideologies that do not improve our fighting force," he said.
Starting with the 2026-2027 academic year, the Pentagon will discontinue professional military education at the master's level, scholarships and certificate programs, the statement quoted by the AP said. Personnel currently attending Harvard will be able to complete those courses.
Hegseth himself received a master's degree from Harvard, but he symbolically returned his degree on Fox News in 2022, the AP recalls.
The military offers its officers various opportunities to obtain a master's degree at both military colleges and civilian institutions such as Harvard University.
Donald Trump accuses Harvard and other American universities from the prestigious "Ivy League" of promoting "progressive" and anti-Semitic ideology, while reproaching them for failing to provide sufficient protection for students of Jewish origin during demonstrations in support of Palestine. Thus, the presidential administration filed lawsuits, demanded huge damages, and took away federal subsidies from many universities.
Earlier this week Trump announced that his administration would file a $1 billion lawsuit against Harvard University.