Who does Iran trade with and what could Trump’s ‘economic D-Day’ mean?
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By Mitchell Labiak, Business reporter
Published 25 August 2026
The US has announced "the single greatest financial offensive ever" aimed at helping it and Israel end their ongoing war with Iran. However, Iran is no stranger to these tactics, having faced near continuous US sanctions since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
In that time, it has developed deep trade ties with several countries which either have a history of ignoring US economic pressure themselves or cannot afford to stop trading with Iran. As a result, Iran states it is "fully prepared" for the new US sanctions, and many economists argue the impact will be limited.
So, who does Iran trade with? And could what the US has called an "economic D-Day" have any real impact?
China
China is the biggest buyer of Iranian goods, making up 26.9% of its exports in 2025, according to data from the International Trade Centre (ITC), a UN and WTO subsidiary.
There are some caveats:
- Economists suspect even before the conflict started, a lot of Iranian oil sales to China were underreported for political reasons.
- ITC data relies on import numbers reported by trading partners due to difficulties in obtaining up-to-date export figures from Iran.
- Data for some partners, like Iraq, is incomplete.
Despite these factors, China’s reliance on Iranian trade is clear from its response to the US announcement, stating it was opposed to "illegal unilateral sanctions" and that economic pressure wouldn’t solve problems. Beijing promised to safeguard its interests.
Turkey
Turkey is another large trading partner of Iran, but has a friendlier relationship with the US than China. This creates a delicate balance:
- The US has threatened to punish countries continuing trade with Iran.
- However, Turkey cannot stop trading without significant economic damage as it struggles with high inflation (31.8%, according to official data).
- As a Nato member bordering Iran, Turkey must balance its alliances and economic ties.
Pakistan
Like Turkey, Pakistan borders Iran and is one of its top export partners. It also has strong ties to the US, though its primary export market is the US itself. This makes Pakistan particularly vulnerable to US economic pressure.
Complicating matters further, not all of Pakistan’s trade with Iran is within Islamabad’s control. The BB… (text incomplete in original)
