Key facts
- Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated the US lacks the economic standing to impose further sanctions.
- The US Treasury announced new sanctions on Iran, threatening secondary sanctions on countries engaging with Tehran.
- Ghalibaf asserted that Iran's trading partners do not consider US statements seriously.
- Iran is considering implementing service fees for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
- Iranian officials have previously dismissed US economic pressure as ineffective and a sign of military weakness.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf asserted that the United States lacks the economic strength to impose further restrictions on other countries, following the announcement of new U.S. Treasury sanctions. Ghalibaf stated on X that Iran's trading partners "have made it clear that they don't take these statements into account anywhere."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced "unprecedented" sanctions aimed at "sever[ing] every economic lifeline that sustains Iran," and threatened to remove countries allowing Iranian money laundering from the U.S. dollar system. Bessent indicated that any economic engagement with Iran would expose those responsible to "the full reach of American power."
This development comes amid Iran's own actions, with reports indicating that Iran's parliament has advanced plans for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz to pay service fees. Previously, Iranian officials, including Ghalibaf, have dismissed threats of economic pressure as a sign that the U.S. and Israel cannot prevail militarily against Iran. Ghalibaf accused the U.S. and Israel of waging "cognitive war and an economic war" after realizing military confrontation was not viable.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the U.S. pivot to economic warfare as "economic terrorism." Bessent specifically mentioned China as a major buyer of Iranian oil, though he declined to comment on whether China would be targeted. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman called for negotiations rather than sanctions.
Ghalibaf also advocated for stronger economic ties between Iran and Iraq, suggesting the use of national currencies in trade to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. The U.S. has previously imposed extensive sanctions on Iran and cracked down on entities buying Iranian oil, with Bessent promising "the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world."