Iran Threatens Attack in Response to U.S. Sanctions Expansion

Iran vowed retaliation after the U.S. Treasury announced expanded sanctions Monday, with Iran's Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh saying Washington should 'expect an attack' in response, according to NBC News reporting of state television remarks. Madanizadeh did not specify what form the attack would take. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced fresh measures against Iran, which he called an 'economic D-Day,' warning that any nation financially partnering with Tehran would be isolated, per NBC News. The U.S. stopped short of imposing immediate penalties but Bessent said President Donald Trump was 'making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime,' according to NBC News. Bessent provided limited details on the measures and did not identify countries that could be targeted with secondary sanctions, NBC News reported. The U.S. Department of the Treasury launched Operation Economic Outcast and is expanding the categories of Iran-related conduct that could be subject to secondary sanctions in the future, with determinations issued against five critical sectors: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping, per NBC News. The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple jurisdictions that it said enable the Iranian regime's conduct, in addition to other measures, according to NBC News. Madanizadeh condemned the U.S. measures as an 'economic terrorist attack' and warned that 'they should not think that our response will be defensive and that we will only defend ourselves,' per NBC News. He stated that 'We know how to play the game too,' according to NBC News reporting. Madanizadeh said Tehran had been preparing for such an economic assault and had a two-year plan in the works to deal with the impact, according to NBC News. He added that at least two nations, China and Russia, have so far given no indication that they plan to fall into line with U.S. sanctions, per NBC News. At a news conference Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing was firmly opposed to 'illegal unilateral sanctions,' according to Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, as reported by NBC News. The operation's launch came after the United Arab Emirates, which has long maintained close economic ties with Iran, last week announced it would be halting all financial transactions with Tehran, according to NBC News. The conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran began in late February after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, per NBC News. Tehran has long denied it is seeking to build a nuclear arsenal, per NBC News. A 60-day ceasefire that followed expired on August 17. Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King's College London's School of Security Studies, said Iran's response suggests Washington's 'Economic D-Day' is producing pain but not the behavioral effect the administration is looking for, according to NBC News. Krieg said Tehran appeared to be interpreting the measures as 'economic warfare' aimed at its 'regime survival rather than as bargaining pressure designed to produce a compromise,' and that Iran's response 'has consequently been defiance rather than accommodation,' per NBC News. Krieg stated that the global community could expect Tehran to increase pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial trade route through which some 20 percent of the world's oil once ran before the war, according to NBC News. Krieg stated that 'Tehran cannot prevent Washington from imposing sanctions, but it can make those sanctions expensive for everybody else,' per NBC News. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said in comments published by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency on Monday that the U.S. 'must correct its tone and approach in dealing with Iran, because relying on force and bullying will only complicate the process,' according to NBC News. Ordinary Iranians expressed mixed views on the sanctions' effectiveness. A 27-year-old mechanic named Farzin told NBC News: 'It's nothing new. The country is already locked and the psychological effect is worse than the actual outcome.' Farzin said U.S. sanctions had yet to yield significant impact on his business, with car parts still making their way into the country through the nation's land borders, whether legally or illegally, according to NBC News. Hamid Ebrahimi, a retired lawyer and university professor, said: 'We are just getting by day to day and can't keep up with inflation. Sanctions have had an effect and the government says it can manage them, but they have always hurt the people and they will continue to do so,' per NBC News. The U.S. also launched its own blockade in Iranian ports in response to Iranian attacks along the strait, per NBC News. Hormuz was open and without tolls when the U.S. and Israel triggered the war, according to NBC News.