Iran Vows Retaliation as US Expands Sanctions, Warns Trading Partners
Iran promises to respond to new US sanctions, which target its economy but stop short of the harshest measures.
Iran has pledged to retaliate against the latest round of US economic sanctions, with officials in Tehran expressing confidence that major trading partners will resist Washington's pressure campaign.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the new measures on Monday, targeting 60 individuals, entities, and vessels. However, the package stopped short of the most punishing sanctions, and Bessent declined to identify which countries might face penalties for continuing to trade with Iran.
"Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" Bessent asked, explaining that nations and companies would be given time to sever ties with Tehran. He warned that no one is "above the reach of US sanctions."
Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh dismissed the pressure, saying, "We are fully prepared for the US sanctions." He added, "Our defense is no longer so defensive; the enemies should wait for an attack." Madanizadeh also claimed that neither China nor Russia had accepted the US measures.
A spokesperson for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, vowed heavy blows to US interests and energy chokepoints if Iran's infrastructure is threatened.
The US appears to be relying on economic pressure to end the conflict, which has already claimed thousands of lives, most of them in Iran and Lebanon. While the war has degraded much of Iran's conventional military, Tehran has preserved enough missile and drone capability to threaten Gulf neighbors and oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil in recent years, has been a focus of US concern. A US blockade of Iran's ports, renewed in mid-July, has already cut oil flows to China. Washington is reportedly wary of Chinese retaliation for any sanctions on its banks ahead of expected talks between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded by saying that sanctions and pressure tactics do not help, and Beijing would protect its interests.
Despite the heightened tensions, oil prices fell by more than $2 a barrel on Monday. In a separate development, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir visited Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran on a peace mission, following a conversation with President Trump last week. Pezeshkian urged the US to "correct its tone and approach" in dealing with Iran, saying that coercion would only complicate matters.