Washington targets Iran’s lifelines as Tehran vows ‘devastating’ response

Washington targets Iran's lifelines as Tehran vows 'devastating' response.

Key points

• China buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler, but further US economic warfare with Beijing.
• The chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, remarked the Islamic Republic's reaction would be broad and decisive.
• But, speaking to Iranian and Iraqi businesspeople late on Thursday, Qalibaf acknowledged the strain on Iran's economy.
• The US and Iran have twice confirmed ceasefire deals, in April and June, aiming to restore the free flow of ships through Hormuz.
• US attacks weaken Iran's economy, forces, but Tehran retains missile, drone capacity to disrupt Hormuz oil traffic.

US attacks weaken Iran's economy, forces, but Tehran retains missile, drone capacity to disrupt Hormuz oil traffic. Bessent notes more detail of economic curbs to come on Monday. US seeks cooperation from China. It opposes sanctions. Nato convenes session to discuss Strait of Hormuz.

Iran remarked on Friday that its response to any new US threats would be "devastating" after Washington pledged to impose the toughest financial penalties in history to topple the Iranian leadership.

After President Donald Trump cautioned of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran.", US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked he would provide details on Monday of the planned sanctions.

In practice, the chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, remarked the Islamic Republic's reaction would be broad and decisive.

"With preparedness across land, sea, air, air defence and cyberspace, Iran's armed forces will respond to the enemy's new threats with crushing, punishing and devastating responses, " Abdollahi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.

Iranian leaders and Trump alike have issued triumphant and threatening statements even as each side has yet to prevail in the war that the US and Israel began almost six months ago, killing thousands of individuals while drawing in other Gulf nations and pushing up global fuel costs.

US attacks have severely diminished Iran's economy and its conventional forces, but Tehran maintains enough missile and drone capability to impede oil tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and attack regional rivals.

Trump, meanwhile, has yet to achieve objectives he set at the start of the war, such as dismantling Iran's nuclear programme and creating conditions for Iranians to overthrow their clerical rulers. The war has driven up gas rates and weighed heavily on his popularity. It fell to the lowest point in his current term in a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the country's main negotiator in mediated discussions with the US, stated Washington appeared to have concluded it could not prevail in a direct military confrontation.

"We must make plans to deal with the unjust sanctions so that we can overcome them, " he remarked in neighbouring Iraq.

"No matter how much military power we have, we won't survive if people are hungry and we don't have financial turnover, economic growth and national production, " Qalibaf remarked, according to official news agency IRNA.

International and US crude oil futures rose on Friday after the US threatened economic sanctions on Iran's trading partners, raising expectations of tighter supply in the coming weeks.

Bessent informed CNBC he would provide details on the new sanctions at a press conference on Monday, adding, "We are going to collapse this regime."

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, but its residents are suffering high inflation, a weakening currency and energy shortages along with damaged infrastructure, iran has weathered near-continuous economic sanctions for almost 50 years. Tighter sanctions could have wider international implications.

Bessent remarked China secured half its energy from the Gulf so it would create sense for them to "get with the programme."

China buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler, but further US economic warfare with Beijing. It has eased earlier restrictions on exports of its vital rare-earth minerals, risks retaliation.

China's embassy in Washington remarked, "Sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem" and called on diplomacy.

There are other risks, especially to US allies in the Gulf, some of whose energy facilities and the desalination plants they depend on for drinking water have come under Iranian attack.

For context, the US and Iran have twice confirmed ceasefire deals, in April and June, aiming to restore the free flow of ships through Hormuz. It before February carried concerning a fifth of all traded oil.

Iran and Oman, which lies just throughout the narrow strait, have been in separate negotiations with a stated purpose to resume navigation, but the US has resisted any agreement that would impose a toll on ships.

Nato's top commander, US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, convened a videoconference of allies at the chief of defence level on Wednesday to discuss ways to backing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, his spokesperson informed Reuters on Friday.

In practice, the spokesperson remarked the effort was not a Nato mission but given the alliance's capabilities, "it makes sense for Nato to facilitate in this way."

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In short, washington targets Irans lifelines as Tehran vows 'devastating response is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.