Iran has condemned looming US economic sanctions on the eve of Washington’s planned announcement on Monday, while threatening retaliation against countries that join the pressure campaign.
The escalation comes as Washington and Tehran show little sign of returning to negotiations, despite continuing diplomatic efforts and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian calling for the war to end.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the planned sanctions amounted to an attempt by Washington to impose its authority on independent states. “Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law,” Mr Baghaei said on social media.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to announce the measures on Monday after threatening to impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.
US President Donald Trump has also warned countries against providing Tehran with “any type of lifeline”, putting particular pressure on China, which buys more than 80 per cent of Iran’s seaborne oil exports, Kpler data shows.
The pressure is already being felt in Iran, where the central bank governor said last week that the country’s oil exports had effectively fallen to zero and access to foreign currency had become increasingly constrained.
“There is no doubt that we have restrictions on oil exports,” Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on state television. He said counterparts overseas had told him revenue from Iranian oil sales had “fallen to zero”. “The same thing has happened to us and it is a reality that we are not exporting oil.”
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council
Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said countries co-operating with Washington would be regarded as enemies and could have their interests attacked.
“We tell all countries around us: do not join the US in its economic war, otherwise, we will regard you as an enemy,” Mr Rezaei said in an interview broadcast on state television.
He warned that co-operation could halt oil exports throughout the Gulf. “Not a single drop of oil will leave the Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz,” Mr Rezaei said, adding that Iran could also attack other routes used to export oil.
He said the strait would remain closed until Washington changed course, while insisting Tehran retained responsibility for managing the waterway.
Pakistan bid to revive diplomacy
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has already fallen dramatically.
On Saturday, Iraqi President Nizar Amidi said Iran had granted permission for several Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, after repeated requests from Baghdad as the waterway remained disrupted by the regional conflict.
The disruption is forcing Gulf states to consider alternatives to the waterway. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman travelled to France, where he was expected to discuss alternative maritime routes, pipelines and regional rail projects with President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday.
Diplomatic contacts were continuing alongside the threats. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke by telephone with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, about regional developments and ways to strengthen peace, stability and security.
The call came amid reports that Field Marshal Munir could travel to Tehran in the coming days to help reactivate negotiations between Iran and the US.
The immediate negotiating environment remains hostile, however. Washington said it would impose further economic pressure after a 60-day period to reach an agreement expired on Monday. The understanding reached through mediators had included significant concessions to Iran in return for allowing ships to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's President has struck a markedly different tone from Iran’s security establishment. “It is better to end the war today, when we are in power and dignity and the whole world acknowledges our victory,” Mr Pezeshkian said.
He also defended the earlier negotiations with Washington, describing the resulting memorandum as a major agreement reached with Iran’s “dignity” and “strength”.
The sanctions could test Washington’s relationship with Beijing as much as its pressure on Tehran. China is Iran’s dominant oil customer, meaning measures targeting buyers, shipping companies or financial intermediaries could directly affect Chinese trade.
Washington has urged Beijing to co-operate, while China has called for diplomacy and opposed unilateral pressure.
For Iran, sanctions combined with restricted oil exports threaten deeper economic damage after months of conflict. For Gulf states, the continuing disruption of the Strait of Hormuz is exposing the risks of relying on a single maritime chokepoint for energy exports.
