Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Tuesday rejected US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s threat of fresh sanctions against countries maintaining economic ties with Tehran, saying Washington was not in a position to further restrict Iran’s relations with other countries.
In a post on X, Ghalibaf said, “Americans know that no one buys their bombast; the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries.”
“Iran’s trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don’t take these statements into account anywhere,” he added.
Ghalibaf’s remarks came after Bessent announced the launch of “Operation Economic Outcast”, a US campaign aimed at severing Iran’s financial connections worldwide and cutting off revenue streams supporting the Iranian government.
Addressing a press conference, Bessent said Iran faced a choice between global isolation and a return to the international economy.
“Iran now faces a clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path to normalcy with the opportunity to rejoin the global economy. Today we are launching Operation Economic Outcast to foreclose all other options available to the Iranian regime,” Bessent said.
The Treasury Secretary said Washington had identified networks allegedly used by Iran to move oil and circumvent US sanctions.
“Treasury has mapped every node, facilitator, and network that Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions. Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will block every potential source of revenue that funds the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the evil Iranian regime,” he said.
Bessent also addressed Iranian military personnel, urging them to question their leadership as Washington intensified its economic pressure on Tehran.
“To the ordinary soldiers supporting this regime, as more and more of your paychecks stop or are supposedly just delayed, ask whether your commanders are leading your country to triumph or to ruin,” Bessent said.
“And recall that the Berlin Wall fell when ordinary soldiers decided not to shoot at their own people,” he added.
The exchange comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the US seeking to restrict Iran’s access to international financial networks and curb its economic revenue streams.
Bessent’s remarks followed an op-ed published a day earlier in which he warned that an “economic D-Day is coming for Iran”. His comments also came after similar warnings from US President Donald Trump, who has sought to increase economic pressure on Tehran and push it towards negotiations.