Iran threatens its neighbors with reprisals if they join the American economic war

Tehran warned countries in the region on Saturday that they would be treated as enemies if they joined in the economic pressure imposed by Washington. The warning comes after Donald Trump announced a new, large-scale economic offensive against Iran.

It was Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who issued the threat during an interview Saturday with the state broadcaster IRIB. "We are telling all neighboring countries not to join the American economic war. Otherwise, we will consider them enemies," he said.

Rezaei outlined Iran's three-stage strategy: first, negotiation; then, an attempt to distance its neighbors from Washington through diplomatic channels; and finally, if these efforts fail, direct action. "We are not really seeking to escalate the war," he clarified, before adding, "But in the third stage, we will undoubtedly act."

These statements follow a series of warnings issued this week by the Trump administration. On Wednesday, the US president announced that his government would conduct the "most crushing economic operation" ever undertaken against Iran, promising "significant economic consequences" for any country offering Tehran "any kind of lifeline." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed this sentiment the following day: "You're either with us or against us."

The conflict between Iran on one side, and the United States and Israel on the other, began on February 28, when the two allies launched the first wave of attacks against Tehran. Negotiations to end it have been stalled since the failure, on June 17, of a memorandum of understanding that would have called for an "immediate and permanent cessation of military operations."

Control of the Strait of Hormuz remains at the heart of tensions. Iran closed the passage at the start of the conflict, causing oil and fertilizer prices to surge. Gulf states have since sought alternative trade routes, but Rezaei warned that Tehran would target these new oil export routes if the region's states participated in American economic warfare plans.

Rezaei also interpreted Washington's strategy as a gamble on Iranian social division. "They hope to break our unity through economic pressure, that a group of protesters will take to the streets and somehow come to the aid of the American F-35s," he said, referring to the fighter jets deployed in the conflict.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry, for its part, denounced the new US measures on Saturday as an assertion of "extraterritorial sovereignty" over UN member states. Media outlets also reported that Tehran was considering expanding its list of targets beyond the Middle East, targeting European allies of the United States who had supported Trump's operations.