by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to reinstate the “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that he practiced during his first term, in order to drive Tehran’s oil exports down to zero and prevent the regime from developing a nuclear bomb, a US official told Reuters.
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had unsuccessfully sought to revive the Obama-era 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Iran deal. Greatly critical of the JCPoA, Trump withdrew the US from the treaty during his first term and later condemned Biden’s efforts to revive it as having allowed Tehran to drive up its oil exports exponentially, progress its nuclear program, and arm terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in the Middle East.
Trump will sign a presidential memorandum that orders sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions, the US official told Reuters. The Trump administration will implement a campaign “aimed at driving Iran’s oil exports to zero,” the official said.
The US Energy Information Administration estimates that Tehran’s oil exports were worth $53 billion in 2023 and $54 billion in 2023, Reuters reports. “Output during 2024 was running at its highest level since 2018, based on OPEC data,” Reuters said.
Sharing Trump’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear aspirations, Britain, France, and Germany told the United Nations Security Council in December that they are ready to reinstate international sanctions on Iran.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Cambridge Christian School v. Florida High School Athletic Association, effectively letting stand a lower-court ruling that bars two Christian schools from offering a brief pre-game prayer over a stadium loudspeaker — even though both teams wanted the prayer and the event was between two private Christian schools.
President Donald Trump confirmed Monday that the United States will move forward with selling advanced F-35 stealth fighters to Saudi Arabia, announcing the decision just one day before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives at the White House for a high-profile visit aimed at deepening economic, technological, and defense cooperation.
The UN Security Council voted 13-0 on Monday to adopt a sweeping U.S.-drafted resolution that codifies President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, endorses a new International Stabilization Force (ISF), and formally recognizes the establishment of a “Board of Peace” to be chaired by Trump himself. Russia and China abstained, allowing the measure to pass without a veto.
Questions have been raised about the future of one of Europe’s largest on-shore natural-gas reserves after parts of the Dutch province of Groningen were struck by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded there.
Gunmen abducted 25 students from a girls’ school in northwest Nigeria early Monday after killing at least one staff member, adding to fears among the nation’s Christian minority, police and other sources confirmed.
South Africa has launched an investigation after 153 Palestinians unexpectedly arrived on a chartered flight at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport last week, prompting questions over who organized the journey and whether any fleeing Hamas fighters or officials may have been among them.
A planned auction of more than 600 Holocaust-era artifacts was cancelled in Germany after an outcry from survivors, victims’ families, civil society groups, and top government officials.