Iran vows to retaliate after US widens sanctions

CAIRO/WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (Reuters) – Iran pledged to fight back against expanded U.S. sanctions aimed at isolating its economy, expressing confidence that major trading partners would resist Washington’s pressure campaign.

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While he said countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of the dollar-based financial system, he declined to give a timeline or identify which may be targeted, saying he would give them time to comply with the new directive.

“Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” he said when asked why the ​measures had not gone further.

The Treasury Department did announce new sanctions on 60 individuals, entities and vessels, but the list did not feature any of the Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating ​Iran’s oil trade.

“We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” Bessent said in response to a question ⁠about Chinese banks.

Experts say Washington is ​wary of Chinese retaliation for any sanctions on its banks ahead of expected talks next month between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with any curbs on China’s exports of critical minerals especially sensitive.

China ​said on Tuesday that its cooperation with Iran is conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted.

OIL TANKER STRUCK NEAR STRAIT OF HORMUZ

An oil tanker was struck on Tuesday by an unidentified projectile and disabled about 9 nautical miles (17 km) northeast of Oman’s Ash Shishah, which lies at the entrance ​to the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.

Before news of the latest sanctions, Iran threatened both a possible military response and further reduction in oil exports from the Gulf in retaliation ​for any U.S. economic measures.

After they were unveiled, Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said that Iran was prepared.

“Our defense is no longer so defensive; the enemies should wait for an attack,” he told state television. Neither China nor Russia ‌had “accepted” the U.S. ⁠measures, he added, predicting that other countries would resist them.

Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, vowed heavy blows to U.S. vital interests and energy chokepoints if Iran’s infrastructure is threatened, Press TV reported.

Iran and the United States signed an interim deal in June aimed at ending the war that began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran in February, but it quickly faltered and Iran resumed attacks which have blocked most energy exports from the Gulf.

“We had a very constructive exchange,” Pakistani Interior Minister ​Mohsin Naqvi, who accompanied army chief Asim Munir ⁠to Tehran, said on X.

An official at the Iranian president’s office, Mehdi Tabatabaei, said on X that Munir’s visit to Iran “yielded highly valuable diplomatic achievements, the results of which will soon be revealed”.

The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment made outside business hours.

LITTLE SIGN OF DIPLOMATIC ​SOLUTION

Oil transits through the Strait of Hormuz were at 5 million barrels per day on Monday, provisional tracking from shiptracker Vortexa showed, down from more than 20 million per day before the war ⁠or about one ​of every five barrels consumed worldwide.

But Iran is still able to attack Gulf neighbors and threaten oil tankers. The exact state of its nuclear program, which the U.S. and Israel ​aim to wipe out, remains unknown.

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