Iran Vows Retaliation After Trump Expands Sanctions Under ‘Operation Economic Outcast’

Iran has vowed to retaliate after the United States expanded economic sanctions against Tehran, as Washington launched a new campaign aimed at disrupting Iran’s financial networks and putting pressure on countries and companies that continue to trade with it.

The warning came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced ‘Operation Economic Outcast’, a campaign targeting Iran’s financial connections and warning countries and companies that continue to do business with Tehran that they could face US sanctions.

Reuters reported that the US Treasury imposed sanctions on 60 individuals, entities and vessels, while stopping short of immediately imposing the most severe penalties on countries that continue trading with Iran. Bessent said those countries would first be given time to comply with Washington’s demands.

Iran Warns Of Retaliation

Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran was ready to deal with the expanded sanctions.

“We are fully prepared for the U.S. sanctions,” Madanizadeh told Iranian state television, according to Reuters.

“Naturally, the enemies intend to launch an economic terrorist attack on us, but we also have our own tools and know how to play the game,” Madanizadeh said.

“Our defence is no longer so defensive; the enemies should wait for an attack,” he added.

Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has warned of heavy blows against US vital interests and energy chokepoints if Iranian infrastructure is threatened, according to Reuters.

US Targets Iran’s Economic Links

Bessent said the campaign would target Iran’s financial connections around the world.

“Today, at President Trump’s direction, the United States Treasury has begun Operation Economic Outcast, an unprecedented campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers,” Bessent said.

He compared the campaign to the Allied military effort during the Second World War, saying the US was seeking to target Iran’s economic connections beyond its borders.

“Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent said. “Our goal is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime.”

The Treasury has expanded the categories of Iran-related activity that could face secondary sanctions to include digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. The Treasury said the designations targeted networks involved in oil-revenue generation, cyber operations and the procurement of nuclear and missile technology.

Bessent warned that countries and companies continuing to do business with Iran could eventually face exclusion from the US dollar-based financial system. However, he did not immediately identify the countries that could face those penalties or set a deadline for compliance.

Pressure On Iran’s Trading Partners

The sanctions are also likely to put pressure on Iran’s major trading partners, particularly China, a major buyer of Iranian oil.

Madanizadeh also said China and Russia had not accepted the US measures and predicted that other countries would resist Washington’s pressure campaign, Reuters reported.

Reuters reported that the latest sanctions did not include Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating Iranian oil trade. Bessent, however, warned that no country or company was beyond the reach of US sanctions.

Pakistan, Iran Discuss Revival Of US-Iran MoU

Pakistan and Iran made “significant progress” in talks aimed at de-escalating the conflict with the United States and finding a path towards a negotiated settlement, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said after a visit to Tehran. Reuters reported that Naqvi and Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, met Iranian leadership, with discussions focusing on preventing further escalation, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and bringing the conflict to an end.

Naqvi said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had “candidly” shared his government’s position during what he described as a constructive exchange. The discussions also covered regional peace and a negotiated settlement, according to a statement from Pakistan’s military.

The talks come after Pakistan’s earlier mediation efforts helped produce the Islamabad Memorandum, which subsequently stalled amid renewed fighting. Reuters had reported that Munir’s Tehran visit was also intended to discuss peace efforts under the MoU.