Iran has threatened to retaliate against any country that joins the United States’ ‘economic war’ against it, as Egypt pressed Tehran and Washington to ‘return to the diplomatic path’ and end their nearly six-month-old conflict. The warning from Iran’s top security official on Saturday came as the US plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on Tehran’s economy.

Iranian Official Warns of ‘Seismic’ Retaliation

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told the IRIB state broadcaster that Iran was appealing to all countries around the world, including its neighbours, not to join the US’s ‘economic war’. ‘Any country that takes part in imposing economic restrictions on us will be regarded as an enemy,’ he said, warning of a ‘seismic’ retaliation.

Rezaei described Iran’s strategy as a three-stage sequence starting with talks to de-escalate tensions. ‘Of course, we will first negotiate with them. We will hold talks and tell them to step aside and distance themselves from the United States. But if they do not act, we will strike. We will target that country’s interests,’ he said.

Trump Promises ‘Crushing’ Economic Measures

Rezaei’s remarks came days after US President Donald Trump announced that his government would undertake the ‘most crushing economic operation’ yet against Iran. He also pledged ‘tremendous economic consequences’ for any country that gives Iran ‘any type of lifeline’.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed his threats the following day, saying, ‘You’re either with us or against us.’ He also urged cooperation from China, which buys more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil. Bessent is due to give details of the planned sanctions on Monday.

Diplomatic Efforts Remain Stalled

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said earlier on Saturday the imminent US announcement of new economic sanctions was an ‘assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations’. ‘Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law,’ he said in a post on X.

The tensions came as diplomatic efforts to end the war remained stalled and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the major shipping lane that Iran has blockaded, remained effectively halted. Iran closed the strait shortly after the US and Israel launched joint strikes on February 28, sending the price of commodities like oil and fertiliser skyrocketing.

On Saturday, Iran’s government news service, IRNA, announced that special permission had been issued for Iraqi oil tankers to transit the strait. However, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi reported that the situation in the strait ‘remains vague’, with Iran saying it will keep it closed until a US naval blockade is lifted.