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Sanctions and retaliation
Iran said its response to any new US threats would be "devastating" after Washington pledged the "toughest financial penalties in history" aimed at toppling the Iranian leadership.
“Iran said on Friday that its response to any new U.S. threats would be "devastating"”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would give details on Monday of the planned sanctions, which follow President Donald Trump’s warning of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type of lifeline to Iran".
Iran’s chief of staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, said Iran’s armed forces would respond to new threats with "crushing, punishing and devastating responses" across land, sea, air, air defence and cyberspace.
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Washington appeared to have concluded it could not prevail in a direct military confrontation and told Iranian and Iraqi businesspeople that "No matter how much military power we have, we won't survive if people are hungry".
Oil flows and shipping
Bessent told CNBC that he was "not sure why oil has popped up on this" after oil edged lower but was on track for a second weekly gain following the sanctions threat.
Reuters reported that just seven commodity ships sailed along the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, half the previous day’s tally, compared with more than 130 a day before the war.
The Reuters report said the US and Iran have twice announced ceasefire deals, in April and June, aiming to restore the free flow of ships through Hormuz, but both quickly crumbled.
In a separate account, the Straits Times said "Just seven commodity ships sailed along the Strait of Hormuz on Aug 20, half the previous day’s tally" and linked the sanctions threat to concern over Gulf energy exports.
Pressure, blockade, and stakes
Bessent described the sanctions and naval blockade as a "one-two punch" and told CNBC, "We are going to collapse this regime" while saying details would be shared at a press conference on Monday.
“"We are going to collapse this regime"”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the US sanctions would not "cause the slightest wavering" in Iranians’ determination to safeguard Iran’s independence, dignity and national sovereignty.
The Reuters report said some Iranians interviewed by Reuters warned additional economic punishment could increase hardship, weaken the clerical establishment and prompt unrest, while noting there has been no sign of new protests since a deadly crackdown on protests in January.
In the Express Tribune’s account of Hezbollah’s response, the group said new sanctions imposed by the United States "will not deter" its resistance against Israel after Washington accused Hezbollah of serving Iran.