Iran warns nearby nations against joining US ‘economic war’ efforts

Iran has threatened to treat nearby countries as enemies and target their interests if they join a United States campaign to cripple its economy.

Key points

• Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, issued the warning in a Saturday interview with state broadcaster IRIB.
• When the two allies introduced an initial volley of attacks against Tehran, the US and Israel have been locked in a war with Iran since February 28.
• Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday additionally decried the incoming US measures as an assertion of "extraterritorial sovereignty" over United Nations member states.
• His Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, echoed his threats the after day, saying, "You're either with us or against us."
• Control over the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping lane off the coast of Iran, has become an enduring sticking point between the US and Iran.

"We're telling all nearby countries not to join the US economic war. Otherwise, we will consider them as enemies, " Rezaei informed IRIB.

His remarks come on the heels of escalating economic threats from the administration of US President Donald Trump.

As part of ongoing hostilities between the two countries, on Wednesday, Trump confirmed his administration would undertake the "most crushing economic operation" yet against Iran.

Along with threatening Iran's economy this week, Trump pledged "tremendous economic consequences" for any country that gives Iran "any type of lifeline".

In Saturday's interview, Rezaei described Iran's regional strategy as a three-stage sequence. It would start with efforts to de-escalate tensions with neighbouring countries.

"First we negotiate. Since we are not really looking to expand the war, " he stated, then, we try to separate them from America with pleasant language.

Any countries that continue to side with the US would then be given time to reconsider, he remarked. "But in the third stage, we will definitely act."

While the US has not halted its military operations against Iran, Rezaei suggested that the Trump administration was betting that economic pressure would fracture Iranian society, forcing the war to come to an end.

"They hope that, if possible, they can break our unity with economic pressure and a group of protesters will take to the streets, and in a way, they will come to the aid of American F-35s, " he remarked, referring to a kind of military aircraft.

After the failure of a June 17 memorandum of understanding (MoU) that called on an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations", negotiations to end the conflict have stalled in recent months.

Iran rapidly moved to shut down traffic through the strait early in the war, sending the rate of goods like oil and fertiliser skyrocketing.

Countries in the Middle East that were previously reliant on the strait for exports have began to pursue substitute trade routes.

But Rezaei cautioned that Iran would target those alternative oil-shipping routes out of the Gulf if regional states took part in the US's aims of economic warfare.

Tehran has additionally reportedly considered widening its target list beyond the Middle East, with media outlets reporting it could strike US allies in Europe who have backed Trump's operations.

Taken together, the developments around iran warns nearby nations against joining US 'economic war' efforts point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.