Amid escalating U.S. threats of economic warfare, a top Iranian official said Friday that Tehran must make plans to overcome “unjust sanctions.” The official, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, has led Iranian negotiators in talks with the U.S.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday had threatened “economic D-Day” against Iran, promising the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY.”
White House officials have reiterated Trump’s threats. On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned of severe punishment against countries that continue to trade with Iran. “Any remaining tie to Tehran will hasten a nation’s economic oblivion, whether that tie be purposefully constructed or willfully ignored,” Bessent wrote on X.
The Treasury Department on Thursday imposed economic sanctions against a courier network that it said smuggled funds to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon. Separately, the U.S. government re-designated Hezbollah a “specially designated global terrorist” group, specifying that it is an Iranian proxy.
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Bessent is expected to lay out new economic measures targeting Iran in a news conference on Monday. The U.S. has long imposed economic sanctions against Iran and its trading partners, but the White House seeks to further strangle the Iranian economy to maximize pressure on the Islamic Republic.
The strategy has met a mixed reaction from the international community. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Thursday that “sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue” and called for diplomacy. But the United Arab Emirates announced this week that it was cutting all economic ties with Iran. The UAE was Iran’s top trading partner in 2025, followed by China.
The Iran War has roiled energy markets and driven up the price of oil. The price of Brent Crude was around $94 per barrel Friday morning. In America, the average price of gasoline is $4.11 per gallon.
