Trump signs new executive orders: Re-imposing maximum economic pressure on Iran and withdrawing from UN Human Rights Council
US President Donald Trump signed a presidential executive order on Tuesday evening to re-impose the policy of maximum pressure on Iran.
“It’s very tough on Iran… I hope we don’t have to use it too much,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
The presidential executive order directs the US Treasury Department to impose maximum economic pressure on Iran through sanctions designed to cripple the country’s oil exports.
The signing came shortly before President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House.
On the other hand, the US President signed a presidential executive order on Tuesday evening, ordering the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Trump signed the order at the White House, which also stipulates the continued suspension of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), after this funding was suspended in January 2024 by the administration of former President Joe Biden.
The signing of the decree comes ahead of an expected White House meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In his first term, between 2017 and 2021, Trump withdrew his country’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council after Republican lawmakers criticized the council’s work, claiming “bias against Israel”.
However, the United States resumed its participation in the Council’s activities in October 2021 under the Joe Biden administration, regaining its membership after a 3-year absence.
After signing the withdrawal order from the council again on Tuesday, Trump said, “I have always felt that the United Nations has tremendous potential, but it’s not living up to that potential right now”.
He added, “The organization isn’t working well and isn’t doing its duty”.
White House documents published by Politico claim that the United Nations Human Rights Council has shown a persistent bias against Israel, by focusing unfairly and disproportionately on it in its decisions and actions.
The documents indicated that in 2018, the year in which Trump withdrew from the council during his first term, the organization issued more resolutions condemning Israel than it condemned Syria, Iran and North Korea combined.
The United States is UNRWA’s largest donor, providing between $300 million and $400 million annually.
However, the Biden administration halted funding in January 2024, after Israel alleged that agency employees participated in the October 7, 2023 attack.
Later, the US Congress officially suspended US contributions to UNRWA until at least March 2025, despite the UN denying the allegations promoted by Israel against the agency and affirming its neutrality.
On October 28, 2024, the Israeli Knesset approved two laws that prevent UNRWA from carrying out any activities inside Israel, as well as withdrawing the privileges and facilities provided to it and preventing any official contact with it.
On January 30, the ban on UNRWA operations in Israel came into effect.
UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
