Top Iran official says US focus on economic warfare shows it has failed militarily

Top Iran official notes US focus on economic warfare indicates it has failed militarily The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S.

Key points

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent continued in an interview on Thursday with CNBC that Iran will face the "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world."
• Emily Feng in Washington DC and Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg contributed to reporting.
• The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S.
• Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had additionally condemned Trump's unveiled pivot to economic warfare, calling it 'economic terrorism' meant to divert attention from U.S.'s economic challenges.
• Blockade is still in place and Iran is still heavily restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil waterway.

Top Iran official notes US focus on economic warfare indicates it has failed militarily.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a 40-day commemoration ceremony for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Imam Hassan Mosque in Karbala, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. Hadi Mizban/AP hide caption.

For context, the Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S. Sanctions have failed.

On Friday, Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the country's main ⁠negotiator with the U.S., remarked Trump's threat of an "economic D-Day" demonstrated Washington was unable to prevail militarily.

"The Americans and the Israelis have realised that they cannot handle Iran.in the field of a hard military war, so they have entered into a cognitive war and an economic war, " he remarked during a visit to neighboring Iraq.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had additionally condemned Trump's unveiled pivot to economic warfare, calling it 'economic terrorism' meant to divert attention from U.S.'s economic challenges. He remarked in a social media post that doubling down on failed U.S. Policies would further rise anti-American sentiment.

Earlier this week, Trump wrote on Truth Social promising "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country" and calling on allies to stand with the U.S.

His remarks come with diplomatic efforts to revive peace discussions completely stalled, days after a 60-day memorandum of understanding to negotiate an end to the war expired.

In practice, a U.S. Blockade is still in place and Iran is still heavily restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil waterway.

In practice, the U.S. Already has extensive sanctions on Iran that create a lot of international trade with Western countries impossible, and in June, the U.S. Additionally cracked down on refineries and businesses which purchase Iranian oil. Now Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is threatening even more secondary sanctions on nations – not just business entities – that do business with Iran.

On Wednesday, Trump wrote "ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences."

"It is going to work in Iran and we are going to collapse this regime. It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to create a decision, " he stated.

For context, the threat of secondary sanctions has raised questions regarding how that will affect China. It buys Iranian oil and which was the only country Bessent mentioned by name.

"Unfortunately, they've been buying, they were the largest consumer of Iranian oil, they were buying about 90 percent of it, " he remarked. But when asked if China might be targeted, Bessent declined to answer.

On Friday a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman pressed negotiations rather than sanctions, saying sanctions and pressure tactics are not the solution.

Bessent is projected to hold a press conference on Monday to provide the details on how Trump's "economic D-Day" will be achieved.

Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the think tank Center for International Policy in Washington informed NPR ideological hardliners now have control of parts of Iran's administration and the economy is not their priority.

"There's this existential threat that the Iranians have been faced with. So they're willing to bear much greater economic costs to kind of secure their survival, " she remarked.

Taken together, the developments around top Iran official says US focus on economic warfare shows it has point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.