TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has vowed to retaliate against to widened U.S. sanctions, saying Washington should “expect an attack” in response to the measures.
“We know how to play the game too,” Iran’s Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said in an interview televised by state media late Monday as he condemned the U.S. measures an “economic terrorist attack.”
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran since 1979 after Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Tehran, taking U.S. diplomats hostage.
Madanizadeh added that at least two nations — China and Russia — have so far given no indication that they plan to fall into line. 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.
“They should not think that our response will be defensive and that we will only defend ourselves,” Madanizadeh warned, adding: “They should expect an attack from our side as well.”
He did not specify what sort of attack he was referring to.
He added that Tehran had been preparing for such an economic assault and had a two-year plan in the works to deal with the impact, though he did not expand on that strategy.
The comments came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced the fresh battery of measures against Iran, which he dubbed an “economic D-Day,” warning that any nation financially partnering with Tehran would be isolated. The U.S. stopped short of imposing actual penalties.
Bessent provided limited details on the measures and did not identify countries that could be targeted with secondary sanctions, but he said President Donald Trump was “making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime.”
The U.S. Department of the Treasury confirmed in a news release Monday that it had launched “Operation Economic Outcast.” In a news release it said it was 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.”
It added that the Office of Foreign Assets Control had also sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels in multiple jurisdictions that it said “enable the Iranian regime’s recklessness,” in addition to other measures.
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.
On the ground in Tehran, some Iranians expressed indifference at the U.S.’s announcement, which Bessent described as “the single greatest financial offensive ever” against Iran.
“It’s nothing new,” one man, Farzin, a 27-year-old mechanic told NBC News on Tuesday. “The country is already locked and the psychological effect is worse than the actual outcome.”
Farzin said U.S. sanctions had yet to yield any significant impact on his business, with car parts still making their way into the country.
