Iran warns Middle East neighbors against joining US 'economic war'
The Hill · C · trust 46/100
Comments: by Tara Suter - 08/23/26 9:16 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Tara Suter - 08/23/26 9:16 AM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Iran has advised its neighbors in the Middle East against entering an “ economic war ” alongside the U.S., as the conflict between Washington and Tehran nears the six month-mark.
According to The Associated Press , Mohsen Rezaei, the Iranian Supreme National Security Council leader, gave a heads-up to surrounding countries to not participate in an American effort to strain the Iranian economy.
“If [President] (Trump) wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” Rezaei told state media Saturday, per the AP.
Tehran would aim for shipping routes for oil leaving the Persian Gulf if nearby countries got involved in the economic pressure against his country, Rezaei said, the AP reported.
Last week , Trump announced the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER” targeting Iran amid talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been essentially closed since March. Iran and Oman have joint jurisdiction over the critical waterway, but Trump has threatened to make the strait a U.S. territory.
“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
The president said any country that gave “any type of lifeline to Iran” would face “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences” from the U.S.
“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are,” the president wrote.
“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat,” Trump continued.
Rezaei’s comments come after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday the U.S.-Iran war should end because the world has accepted Tehran’s victory in this conflict.
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