A file photo of Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi. /VCG
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Washington's latest economic pressure campaign against Tehran is bound to fail, just like previous US efforts to force Iran into submission.
"14 years ago: 'Most crippling sanctions in history.' Failed. 8 years ago: 'Maximum pressure.' Failed. 5 months ago: 'Unconditional surrender.' Failed. Today: 'Most crushing economic operation ever.' Bound to fail," Araghchi posted on social media platform X.
His remarks came after US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday what he called "the most crushing economic operation ever taken" against any country providing support to Iran.
"This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, describing the move as an "ECONOMIC D-DAY."
Meanwhile, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said on Friday that waters east of the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman – a key maritime area connecting the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf – are currently under Iran's "complete control."
Iran is maintaining "round-the-clock monitoring of all movements by hostile forces from outside the region," Irani said, adding that the Iranian armed forces remain on high alert. He warned that Iran would soon deliver a "major, historic and unforgettable lesson" to its adversaries at sea.
The latest escalation comes after tensions between Washington and Tehran intensified following the unclear fate of negotiations under a June 18 memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending conflicts in the region, including in Lebanon.
Under the MoU, the two sides were expected to hold talks within 60 days to reach a final deal. However, the process was thrown into uncertainty after renewed tensions between the two countries last month.
Although Trump warned that any country allowing its financial institutions, businesses, airports or government bodies to support Tehran would face severe economic consequences, experts questioned the effectiveness and enforceability of the newly announced "economic warfare" campaign.
Qin Tian, deputy director of the Institute of Middle East Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the measures outlined by Trump largely represent a continuation of existing US policies.
"Currently, we have not seen the US government, particularly the Treasury Department, release specific details. Sanctions require concrete implementation procedures and mechanisms," Qin said.
He noted that many of the measures announced by Trump have already been pursued by Washington in recent years.
"Due to the long-standing US sanctions regime, foreign governments, institutions and financial organizations have already significantly reduced direct economic ties with Iran. The room for requiring other countries to cooperate with US sanctions is actually quite limited," Qin said.
Wang Jin, director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Northwest University, said significant uncertainty remains over whether US economic pressure can achieve its intended goals.
Wang said decades of US sanctions and economic restrictions – particularly after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 – have failed to undermine Iran's economic foundations or disrupt the basic functioning of Iranian society.
He added that amid continued US military pressure, domestic support for the Iranian government has increased to some extent.
Following the outbreak of renewed conflict at the end of February, Iran has also expanded its use of overland trade routes through Iraq, Pakistan, Central Asian countries and Russia, Wang said. These networks have helped maintain Iran's economic links with the outside world while making it more difficult for Washington to completely cut off the country's trade and financial connections.
Wang said that as Iran retains a degree of resilience and capacity to respond to economic pressure, US sanctions are unlikely to force Tehran into major concessions in the short term.
Instead, he warned, the latest pressure campaign could prolong confrontation between the two countries and increase the strategic and economic costs of Washington's Middle East policy.
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