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Iran threatens US-aligned states
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei warned that Tehran will treat any neighboring country that sides with Washington’s campaign against it as an enemy, and he said Iran would target their interests if they joined the US effort.
“Tehran Iran will treat any neighboring country that sides with Washington's campaign against it as an enemy”
Rezaei also said Iran would prevent oil from leaving the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz and would target alternative regional export routes, while claiming the strait was already closed despite US statements to the contrary.
In a separate account, Kurdistan 24 said Rezaei issued a sweeping threat on Saturday warning that Tehran will target the interests of any country helping Washington wage economic warfare against the Islamic Republic.
Kurdistan 24 further reported that Rezaei declared that any opening of the Strait of Hormuz will be managed by Iran and will carry a transit fee, while adding that he said this has no connection to the separate Iran-Oman agreement on the strait’s middle route.
US pressure, Iranian rejection
Shafaq News reported that US President Donald Trump vowed on Thursday to isolate Iran and impose heavy costs on any government that offers Iran financial or commercial support, while threatening severe consequences for countries that let financial institutions, companies, airports, or government bodies assist Iran.
In response, CGTN reported that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei criticized Trump’s planned new economic pressure campaign, saying Washington was seeking to force other countries to comply with US sanctions.
CGTN also quoted Baghaei saying on X that such secondary sanctions amounted to an assertion of US "extraterritorial sovereignty" over other countries.
The same CGTN article said Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said Friday that Washington had shown it "does not understand the language of diplomacy."
Strait fees and regional stakes
Kurdistan 24 said Rezaei declared that any opening of the Strait of Hormuz will be managed by Iran and will carry a transit fee, and it added that he explicitly said this fee-based management position has no link to the Iran-Oman deal on the strait's middle route.
“any opening of the Strait of Hormuz will be managed by Iran and will carry a transit fee”
The same Kurdistan 24 report said the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed to normal commercial traffic since the conflict began on February 28, 2026, and it cited Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying on Monday, August 3, 2026, that ships and oil are already moving through the strait in real time.
Gulf News framed the standoff for UAE residents by saying Trump called the waterway 'American territory' and warned Iran against developing a nuclear weapon, while also reporting that Iran rejected new US sanctions and warned of a broader response to any future attack.
Gulf News added that any escalation around the Strait of Hormuz could affect regional air travel, shipping, oil prices and wider economic activity, and it reported that the US Central Command said it redirected 68 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two others as of August 21.