Iran Warns Gulf States Not to Join Trump’s Economic War

President Trump has warned that “Economic D-Day” is coming for Iran. This weekend, Tehran promised to fight back, threatening any nation that helps the United States. Iran’s new security chief, Mohsen Rezaei. on Saturday vowed to strike the interests of oil-rich neighbors if they joined U.S. efforts to further isolate Iran, whose economy is already in free fall. Mr. Rezaei warned that his country would seek to prevent “even a single drop of oil” from leaving the region. “Any country that becomes a partner in creating economic restrictions against us will be regarded by us as an enemy,” he said in an interview with Iran’s state broadcaster. Mr. Razaei is a political hard-liner and former head of the Revolutionary Guards who started in his position two weeks ago. The interview struck an aggressive tone in line with Iran’s increasingly hawkish regional strategy since the war began last February. At one point, he asked whether Iran should pursue building a nuclear bomb, which Tehran has previously insisted it has no intention of doing. Though active military hostilities have ebbed, Iran and the United States remain locked in an economic standoff. Mr. Trump, in addition to a naval blockade of Iran, has threatened “tremendous economic consequences” on any nation doing business with Tehran. His treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is expected to announce the U.S. economic plan against Iran on Monday. Iran is continuing to disrupt the global economy by blocking traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf, and says it will not relent until a deal is reached with Washington. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .