Iran threatens neighbors over participation in US economic pressure
Iran has threatened to regard neighboring states as enemies and strike their interests if they join the US campaign of economic pressure on Tehran. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said this in an interview with state broadcaster IRIB, Al Jazeera English reports.
“We tell all neighboring countries not to join the US economic war. Otherwise, we will consider them enemies,” Rezaei said. He also stated that Iran could attack alternative oil transportation routes from the Persian Gulf if regional states support US plans for economic pressure.
US economic threats
Rezaei’s statement came after economic pressure was intensified by the administration of US President Donald Trump. On Wednesday, Trump said the United States would carry out the “most devastating economic operation” against Iran.
The US president also promised “enormous economic consequences” for any country that provides Iran with any “lifeline.” The following day, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent supported this position, saying: “You are either with us or against us.”
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Three stages of the strategy
According to Rezaei, Iran plans to act in three stages. First, Tehran will seek to reduce tensions in relations with neighboring countries through negotiations. Next, Iran, he claimed, will try to persuade them to distance themselves from the United States, as it does not seek to expand the war.
Countries that continue to support Washington will be given time to reconsider their position, the official said. At the same time, he stressed that at the third stage, Iran “will definitely act.”
Strait of Hormuz
Control over the Strait of Hormuz, an important sea route near Iran’s coast, remains one of the key points of dispute between the United States and Iran. According to Al Jazeera English, Iran halted traffic through the strait at the beginning of the war, causing prices to rise, including for oil and fertilizers. Middle Eastern states that had previously depended on this route for exports began seeking alternative trade routes.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the planned US measures, calling them a claim to “extraterritorial sovereignty” over UN member states.
