Iran warns neighbors against joining US economic war, threatens Gulf retaliation

On Saturday, Iran's top security official drew a sharp line in the sand: any neighboring country that joins the United States' economic campaign against Tehran would be treated as an enemy. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, made the warning in an interview with state media, framing the choice starkly for countries in the region. "We are telling all surrounding countries not to participate in the economic war with America; otherwise, we will consider them an enemy," he said. The statement came as the Trump administration prepared to unveil a new round of sanctions on Monday, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set to announce details of what officials are describing as a comprehensive economic isolation strategy.

The timing of Rezaei's warning underscores the escalating pressure between Washington and Tehran. Trump's approach relies on a combination of new sanctions, a naval blockade, and economic coercion of Iran's trading partners—particularly China—to force Iran into accepting a settlement on American terms. The strategy assumes that economic pain will eventually break Tehran's will to continue the conflict. But Rezaei's comments suggest Iran views the situation differently: not as a negotiation waiting to happen, but as an act of war that demands a response. He insisted that Iran is not seeking to escalate the conflict, but the implicit threat was clear—if the economic pressure continues, so will Iran's military options.

Rezaei also used the interview to attack Trump directly on the nuclear question. He accused the president of creating "nuclear insecurity" rather than enhancing global security, arguing that Washington's actions against Iran have actually increased the appetite among other nations to acquire nuclear weapons. The logic he presented was straightforward: if Iran, despite being a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and submitting to international inspections, could still face American military action, then membership in international nuclear agreements offered no real protection. "Trump's stupidity in attacking Iran increased the world's desire for the atomic bomb," Rezaei said, pointing to what he saw as the failure of the international system to prevent American aggression. He emphasized that Tehran had complied with international nuclear regulations and remained committed to the NPT framework.

The Iranian position on sanctions reflects a deeper calculation about what economic pressure can and cannot achieve. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls the Strait of Hormuz and has demonstrated its ability to launch drone strikes across the Persian Gulf, appears to believe it has leverage that transcends economic pain. Intelligence assessments suggest that if the Trump administration's sanctions intensify, Iran is likely to respond with military strikes across the Gulf region, potentially targeting energy infrastructure that underpins global oil markets. This threat is not rhetorical—the IRGC has already shown its capacity to execute such operations.

On Saturday, Iran formally condemned the coming sanctions announcement, warning that new economic measures would further damage the Islamic Republic's economy and harm its most important trading relationships. Nearly six months have passed since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28. Since then, the two sides have largely ceased direct fire at each other, yet neither shows any inclination to pursue serious peace negotiations. The conflict has settled into a different phase: economic warfare on one side, the threat of military retaliation on the other, with neighboring countries caught in the middle, forced to choose between Washington's pressure and Tehran's warnings. What happens when Treasury Secretary Bessent unveils the new sanctions on Monday will likely determine whether this standoff continues or whether the region enters a new cycle of military escalation.