The warning comes as US President Donald Trump threatens to isolate Iran economically, to weaken its authorities.
Printed On 22 Aug 2026
Iran has threatened to deal with close by international locations as enemies and goal their pursuits in the event that they be part of a United States marketing campaign to cripple its financial system.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Nationwide Safety Council, issued the warning in a Saturday interview with state broadcaster IRIB.
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“We’re telling all close by international locations to not be part of the US financial warfare. In any other case, we’ll think about them as enemies,” Rezaei informed IRIB.
His remarks come on the heels of escalating financial threats from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Trump announced his authorities would undertake the “most crushing financial operation” but in opposition to Iran, as a part of ongoing hostilities between the 2 international locations.
The US and Israel have been locked in a warfare with Iran since February 28, when the 2 allies launched an preliminary volley of assaults in opposition to Tehran.
Along with threatening Iran’s financial system this week, Trump pledged “great financial penalties” for any nation that offers Iran “any kind of lifeline”.
His Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, echoed his threats the next day, saying, “You’re both with us or in opposition to us.”
In Saturday’s interview, Rezaei described Iran’s regional technique as a three-stage sequence, which might begin with efforts to de-escalate tensions with neighbouring international locations.
“First we negotiate. Then, we attempt to separate them from America with nice language, as a result of we aren’t actually trying to develop the warfare,” he mentioned.
Any international locations that proceed to facet with the US would then be given time to rethink, he mentioned. “However within the third stage, we will certainly act.”
Whereas the US has not stopped its navy operations in opposition to Iran, Rezaei urged that the Trump administration was betting that financial strain would fracture Iranian society, forcing the warfare to come back to an finish.
“They hope that, if attainable, they’ll break our unity with financial strain and a bunch of protesters will take to the streets, and in a method, they may come to the help of American F-35s,” he mentioned, referring to a sort of navy plane.
Negotiations to finish the battle have stalled in current months, following the failure of a June 17 memorandum of understanding (MoU) that known as for an “instant and everlasting termination of navy operations”.
Management over the Strait of Hormuz, a significant transport lane off the coast of Iran, has turn into a permanent sticking level between the US and Iran.
Iran rapidly moved to close down visitors via the strait early within the warfare, sending the value of products like oil and fertiliser skyrocketing.
International locations within the Center East that had been beforehand reliant on the strait for exports have began to pursue substitute commerce routes.
However Rezaei warned that Iran would goal these different oil-shipping routes out of the Gulf if regional states took half within the US’s plans of financial warfare.
Iran’s Ministry of International Affairs on Saturday additionally decried the incoming US measures as an assertion of “extraterritorial sovereignty” over United Nations member states.
Tehran has additionally reportedly considered widening its target list past the Center East, with media retailers reporting it might strike US allies in Europe who’ve supported Trump’s operations.
