President Trump has warned that “Economic D-Day” is coming for Iran. This weekend, Tehran promised to fight back, threatening any nation that helps the United States.
Iran’s new security chief, Mohsen Rezaei. on Saturday vowed to strike the interests of oil-rich neighbors if they joined U.S. efforts to further isolate Iran, whose economy is already in free fall. Mr. Rezaei warned that his country would seek to prevent “even a single drop of oil” from leaving the region.
“Any country that becomes a partner in creating economic restrictions against us will be regarded by us as an enemy,” he said in an interview with Iran’s state broadcaster.
Mr. Razaei is a political hard-liner and former head of the Revolutionary Guards who started in his position two weeks ago. The interview struck an aggressive tone in line with Iran’s increasingly hawkish regional strategy since the war began last February. At one point, he asked whether Iran should pursue building a nuclear bomb, which Tehran has previously insisted it has no intention of doing.
Though active military hostilities have ebbed, Iran and the United States remain locked in an economic standoff. Mr. Trump, in addition to a naval blockade of Iran, has threatened “tremendous economic consequences” on any nation doing business with Tehran. His treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is expected to announce the U.S. economic plan against Iran on Monday.
Iran is continuing to disrupt the global economy by blocking traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf, and says it will not relent until a deal is reached with Washington.
In response, oil-producing countries have spent billions to expand pipelines and other infrastructure in an effort to export oil from the region. Saudi Arabia, for instance, reduced its reliance on the strait by pumping much of its oil through a pipeline and loading it onto tankers in the Red Sea, while Iraq has been pumping more oil through pipelines to Turkey, or trucking it for export from neighboring Syria.
Mr. Rezaei said Iran would first seek to negotiate with countries perceived to be joining the U.S. pressure campaign. But if that failed, he said, Iran would move to block oil not only through the strait, “but from the Persian Gulf at all.”
“Countries cannot join America in imposing an economic blockade and harm our interests while we continue allowing oil to leave the Persian Gulf,” he said, noting that Iran was not currently interfering with oil leaving through other routes, “but we will target those routes as well.”
He signaled that Iran aims to expand this more confrontational approach from the military to the economic realm as the Trump administration shifts its focus to economic pressure. Last week, Mr. Bessent warned of “never before seen” measures, which some analysts suggest may include imposing sanctions on countries buying Iranian oil, or imposing more penalties on financial transactions with Iran.
Economic warfare is not new to Iran, which already came under “maximum pressure” during the previous Trump administration and has faced some form of U.S. sanctions since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979.
This time, Iran’s economy is in one of its most severe crises yet. Iranian infrastructure has been deeply battered by the war. Even before the conflict started, dire economic conditions sparked nationwide protests that security forces quashed by killing thousands of people.
Since the war began, the country has been grappling with soaring food prices and skyrocketing unemployment that have put everyday food items increasingly out of reach for more Iranians.
In recent weeks, the government has been trying to find a way to respond to a growing fuel crisis, partly caused by damaged infrastructure and slowed imports under the U.S. maritime blockade. The government is struggling to provide the subsidized gasoline prices Iranians rely on, wary of making changes that could spark unrest.
Now, Mr. Trump’s threats could increase the economic stranglehold Iran faces from neighbors and critical trading partners.
Earlier this week, the United Arab Emirates halted all its trade and financial transactions with Iran, a decision that could hurt Iranian importers’ ability to pay for goods through financial services provided by the U.A.E.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said Sunday that Iran was in a “full-scale economic, military and security war,” adding that his government was trying to find ways to counter the growing economic pressures.
“We have stood firm and are trying to be servants of the people in the face of this unequal war,” Mr. Pezeshkian said in a speech.
Unlike hard-liners like Mr. Rezaei, he has called for a return to diplomatic negotiations with Washington, arguing that Iran should act while it has a strong strategic hand.
Mr. Rezaei in the interview instead urged the public to “launch an economic jihad.” Iranians should reduce their reliance on state subsidies and imports, he argued, and increase self-sufficiency through local production.
“Every home can become a launcher in the economic war,” he said. “Every neighborhood can become a missile base in the economic war.”
Sanam Mahoozi contributed reporting
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