Iran denounces planned US sanctions as conflict nears six months

Tehran, Iran. Iran on Saturday condemned planned new US sanctions, saying they would further pressure its economy and affect major trading partners including China.

The announcement comes nearly six months after US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran began on February 28, with no active exchanges of fire but no apparent moves towards peace talks.

Sanctions announcement

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Monday after threatening what he described as “the toughest sanctions in history” against Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the planned measures represented an “assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations.”

“Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law,” Baghaei said in a post on X.

Impact on oil trade

Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are at a virtual standstill, with Tehran threatening to strike unauthorised oil tankers attempting to pass through the waterway.

Iran’s economy is already under significant pressure from sanctions. Bessent has called on China to cooperate with Washington. China buys more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler, while Beijing has called for diplomacy.

Military and diplomatic positions

Iranian armed forces chief of staff Major General Ali Abdollahi said on Friday that Iran would answer enemy threats militarily with “crushing, punishing and devastating responses.”

US President Donald Trump, who has warned of economic consequences for any country providing “any type of lifeline to Iran,” said on Friday that Washington was watching developments in the conflict.

“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump said of Iran.