Iran says any country joining US economic war to be considered ‘enemy’

Iran has issued a stark warning to countries weighing support for Washington’s escalating economic campaign, with Tehran threatening to treat participants as enemies and strike their interests if they join what it calls the US “economic war”.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Saturday that Tehran would first seek to persuade countries to stay out of the conflict. But if they refused, he warned, Iran would retaliate. Neighbouring countries joining the US pressure campaign, he said, could face a far-reaching response, including a halt to oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Rezaei said Iran had spent years learning how to withstand and circumvent US sanctions and would continue finding ways to sell its oil. He also reiterated Tehran’s position that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Washington honours commitments under the June US-Iran memorandum of understanding, insisting that the United States must make the first move. 

Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, dismissed Washington’s latest economic offensive as another coercive strategy destined to fail. His remarks came after US President Donald Trump unveiled what he described as the “most crushing economic operation” ever imposed on a country, calling it economic warfare and an unprecedented campaign of isolation against Iran. 

For Tehran, the confrontation is now stretching far beyond sanctions. The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as Iran’s most potent lever, linking the country’s economic survival to one of the world’s most critical energy arteries. As Washington seeks to tighten the economic noose around Iran, Tehran is signalling that any attempt to isolate it could carry consequences far beyond its borders. 

The latest warnings come amid uncertainty over the June agreement, under which Washington and Tehran were expected to pursue negotiations towards a final settlement. With diplomacy stalled and economic pressure intensifying, Iran’s latest rhetoric suggests that the battle over sanctions, oil and Hormuz could become the next major flashpoint in the confrontation.

With agency inputs