*As President Pezeshkian Laments Economic Turmoil
*US Prepares ‘Toughest Sanctions In History’
“We have never been afraid. All of their actions – whether blockades or other military moves they have made – have failed, and this new issue of theirs will fail as well.”
This was the defiant message from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as the United States (US) prepared a fresh round of economic sanctions, described as the toughest in history, seeking to bring the country’s government to its knees,reports the Guardian UK today.
The Minister’s threat came hours after Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said US President Donald Trump had thrust his country into “a full-scale economic, military and security war.”
Araghchi dismissed the new sanctions threat as a “desperate” ploy, even as the country’s President acknowledged that the Iranian people are facing “many problems” amid Washington’s efforts to isolate and debilitate the country’s economy.
Last week, Trump announced a new campaign to increase the pressure on the Iranian economy, calling it “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country.”
The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, is expected to announce further punitive economic measures on Iran – which he has described as “the toughest sanctions in history” – on Monday (tomorrow).
Despite the threats, Araghchi insisted the country remained unbowed.
“The fact that [US leaders] have moved on from military operations … to bringing up the same old plans shows that they are desperate,” he said in a video posted on Telegram today (Sunday).
“We have never been afraid. All of their actions – whether blockades or other military moves they have made – have failed, and this new issue of theirs will fail as well,” the Minister stressed.
Araghchi urged Washington to speak to Iran respectfully to find “a solution based on justice and honour.“
In contrast, Pezeskhian underlined the country’s economic troubles.
“I understand we have many problems in society right now. We are trying to prevent these as much as we can,” he said in a speech broadcast on state television.
“We are striving with all our hearts to overcome inflation, livelihood problems, unemployment, and to secure the future of the people, so that they can live with dignity and pride,” he added.
Hardship Triggered Past Waves Of Protests
The Iranian government has faced several waves of mass protest in recent years, often triggered by economic hardships, including inflation and exchange-rate swings leading to declining purchasing power.
At the end of December last year, a protest movement initially sparked by the rising cost of living turned into mass demonstrations denouncing those in power.
Authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths during the unrest, accusing the US and Israel of orchestrating the violence.
Foreign-based NGOs, however, said Iranian officials had launched an indiscriminate crackdown that left several tens of thousands dead.
New Security Chief Warns US’ M/East Allies Against Joining Anti-Iran Economic War
Meanwhile, the new leader of Iran’s top security body has warned its neighbours against joining new US efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy, and threatened US commercial interests in the region, as Trump doubled down on his view that the Strait of Hormuz was a new US territory.
Mohsen Rezaei, the hardline leader of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told state television that Iran would target oil-shipping routes out of the Gulf – alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz – if its neighbours joined what he called the “economic war” waged by the US.
Those neighbours would be “considered an enemy” and “we will target their interests”, he said.
Rezaei also claimed Iran had more cards to play in the war, saying it had “not yet attacked any American economic interests.”
“So far, we have only targeted military bases, but if they want to impose economic sanctions on us, the United States has oil and economic companies around Iran and elsewhere, and we will strike them,” he said in the interview, which was broadcast yesterday.
Trump’s efforts to finish the war which started on 28 February have run into hitches after a ceasefire agreement signed in June collapsed, leaving Iran in control of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that was the conduit for one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies before the conflict.
Washington has called on other governments to join its efforts to isolate the Iranian economy, notably China, among Iran’s top strategic partners.
However, Beijing has criticised the initiative, arguing that US sanctions will not resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
One of Iran’s main trading partners, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced on Tuesday last week it was suspending all trade and financial transactions with Tehran until further notice.
The US Treasury has for months been carrying out Operation Economic Fury, aiming to cut off Iran’s funding with targeted sanctions, while a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has sought to block Iranian oil exports that are vital in keeping the country’s economy afloat.
The US President has in recent days repeatedly raised the concept of declaring the Strait a US territory, sharing a map identifying it as such in a social media post yesterday.
Rezaei said in his interview that discussions continued with Iran’s cross-strait neighbour Oman over management of the waterway, and said fees would be imposed.
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, are expected to discuss plans to develop alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz during the Saudi leader’s two-day visit to Paris expected to start today.
*PHOTO CAPTION: President Pezeshkian (l) and Araghchi.
