Ed Elson

Trump wrote that the order is, quote, effective immediately and that the decision is final and conclusive.

However, the White House has not yet explained how the tariffs would be enacted or by what authority.

It appears the move is a response to the Iranian government's violent crackdown on protesters, which has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths.

In a Tuesday morning Truth Social post,

President Trump said he has cancelled talks with Iranian officials and he's urged Iranians to, quote, keep protesting and take over your institutions.

The protests began in late December as inflation and Iran's collapse in currency, the rial, made everyday goods unaffordable.

They've since gained momentum, morphing into wider demonstrations against the Iranian regime.

Here to explain the situation in Iran and what these tariffs might mean for the country, we're speaking with Maurice Obstfeld, former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Maurice, thank you for joining us on Profity Markets.

Thank you.

So we've seen this crackdown from the Iranian regime.

Then we see the tariffs announced from Trump.

Just as a beginner, what is actually happening in Iran?

What are these protests about?

And what is the economic situation over there?

It seemed like everything reached a tipping point in December, or at least last month and last few weeks or so.

Seems like a lot of this is economic, the hyperinflation you mentioned, also the collapse of the currency.

What triggered this outburst that we've seen in the past month or so?

So then we see this violent, violent crackdown from the Iranian regime.

Civilians murdered.