Iran Threatens US Allies with Retaliation Over Economic Pressure
Iran has warned countries joining the United States’ economic pressure campaign that they could become targets of retaliation from Tehran. The threat comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz faces growing disruption and Washington prepares to impose new sanctions.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said any country that participates in implementing economic restrictions against Iran will be treated as an enemy. “Any country that participates in the implementation of economic restrictions against us will be considered an enemy,” he told state broadcaster IRIB, as quoted by Al Jazeera on Monday (24/8/2026).
Rezaei even warned Iran’s neighbouring countries not to assist US President Donald Trump’s economic campaign. If they still join, he said, “not a single drop of oil” will be able to leave the Gulf region, including through alternative routes outside the Strait of Hormuz.
The warning signals that Iran could potentially expand the economic conflict into a threat against global energy routes. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy trade routes, which under normal conditions carries around one-fifth of global oil and gas exports.
Rezaei said Iran will pursue a gradual strategy. “Of course, we will negotiate with them first. We will hold talks and ask them to step aside and keep their distance from the United States,” he said.
However, he stressed that Tehran will escalate its response if the warning is ignored. “But if they do not take action, we will strike. We will target the interests of that country,” Rezaei said.
Iran researcher at the Clingendael Institute, Hamidreza Azizi, assessed that the threat is part of Tehran’s effort to build a deterrent effect early on. According to him, Iran’s new doctrine includes preventive action to ward off threats as well as disproportionate retaliation to raise the risks and costs for any attacking party.
Gulf states are now in a difficult position. They are US allies, but at the same time direct neighbours of Iran and highly dependent on the stability of shipping lanes and energy exports.
Saudi Arabia and Iran even normalised relations in 2023 through a China-mediated agreement, while the United Arab Emirates restored diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2022.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that his country now faces a “full-scale war in the economic, military and security fields” with the US. He claimed Iran is actually growing stronger in the face of the pressure and rejected Washington’s assumption that aggression against Tehran would leave Iran with the same fate as Venezuela.
Iran’s latest threat came after Trump promised the “most devastating economic operation” against Tehran and warned any country that provides an economic lifeline for Iran.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent even stressed, “You are on our side or against us,” when urging China, the buyer of more than 80% of Iran’s oil shipments, to join in pressuring Tehran.