Here’s How Trump’s Using The Graham Act To Trap Russia And Crush Iran

President Trump on 18 September enacted the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, granting expansive tariff and financial powers intended to compel changes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and to pressure regimes viewed as hostile to U.S. interests. In remarks to the United Nations General Assembly on 22 September, the president signaled readiness to use the new authorities to push for a halt to the fighting, saying he was actively engaging both Moscow and Kyiv to secure a quicker settlement.

Key mechanisms in the law include authority to impose a 100% tariff on U.S. imports from the top five buyers of Russian crude or natural gas and from the top five jurisdictions identified as facilitating sanctions evasion. The source lists China, India, Turkey, Brazil, and Azerbaijan as the top five individual purchaser countries; the European Union would rank fourth as a bloc but is not treated as a single trading entity in the statute as currently applied. The Act also establishes a mandatory tariff of up to 500% on any remaining direct Russian imports and blocks transactions involving Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’ of tankers.

Financial restrictions are codified as well: the law forbids U.S. capital markets from processing funds connected to the Russian government. The combination of trade penalties and financial blocks is designed to squeeze Russia’s export earnings and complicate its oil and gas logistics, measures that analysts cited in the source say could exacerbate existing bottlenecks in Russia’s war effort and hit buyers heavily reliant on Russian energy.

Beyond immediate Russia-related aims, the Act is structured to be expandable as a tool against other states the administration deems problematic, including Iran, North Korea, or China. The statute leaves significant discretion to the president on waivers and implementation timing, a feature the source notes gives the U.S. executive branch leverage not only over Moscow but also over allies and partners — and, indirectly, over Kyiv — because the administration controls enforcement and any easing of penalties. Observers quoted by the source also link the measure to broader political and economic calculations, including concerns about oil-price movements and presidential legacy priorities described by the author of the excerpt.