Irish exports to Iran amounted to just under €5.7 million for the first 10 months of last year and remain a very small component of the State’s overall export trade, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

With US president Donald Trump threatening to impose 25 per cent tariffs on any country doing business with Iran amid ongoing protests against the regime, CSO figures indicated that the State exported just under €40 million of produce there in 2024 while importing €664,000 worth of goods.

However, this fell to just €5.7 million worth of exports and just over €1 million in imports for the 10 months to the end of October last year, according to the most up-to-date trade statistics.

The bulk of the exports in 2024 (67 per cent) were in two categories: chemicals and materials for beverages and chemical products for industry use.

Decades of western sanctions have battered Iran’s economy, triggering high inflation, unemployment and a precipitous slide in the country’s currency.

While the protests began over economic grievances, they have morphed into the biggest anti-government protests in years.

Senior industry figures here described the trade between the Republic and Iran as “minimal”.

They also said that trade data for services between the two states was “slim on the ground” while noting “Trump’s trade policies” have been geared at goods rather than services.

“Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff ⁠of 25 per cent on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Monday.

“This order is final and conclusive,” the US president wrote without providing further details.

However, there was no official documentation about the policy from the White House on its website.

China is Iran’s largest export market.

Ireland’s record tax take makes light of Trump tariffs fear

Beijing imported more than $14 billion (€12 billion) of products from Iran in the first 10 months of last year, according to figures from Trade Data Monitor which are based on statistics from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.

Rapprochement with the West in the form of a deal over Iran’s nuclear ambitions led to a partial lifting of EU and US sanctions in 2016.

The Department of Agriculture, food export agency Bord Bia and 17 Irish food companies took part in a trade mission to Tehran at the time, as the State eyed Iran as a relatively new and potentially lucrative export market.

But this window was closed again in 2018 when the first Trump administration reimposed sanctions and warned that any country doing business with Iran would not be able to trade with the US.