Iran’s FM says US ‘economic terrorism’ threatens global economy, national sovereignty
Tehran, Aug 20 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that US “economic terrorism” threatens the global economy and the sovereignty of nations worldwide.
The remarks came after US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday “the most crushing economic operation ever taken” against any country providing a lifeline to Iran, Xinhua News Agency reported.
“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” Trump posted on Truth Social, calling the move “an economic D-Day.”
In response, Araghchi said on X that the so-called “Economic D-Day” is a diversion from Washington’s own crisis: “unprecedented debt and surging interest costs.”
“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat — and enmity of Iranians. US economic terrorism threatens the global economy and sovereignty worldwide,” he added.
Trump has warned that Iran could face “very Draconian sanctions” even as he played down the Strait of Hormuz’s future importance, arguing that increased American energy production and new supply routes had reduced the world’s dependence on the strategic waterway.
“We have things that we could sanction. We have very Draconian sanctions, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said at the White House when asked about possible new measures against Tehran.
The President said vessels were moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea and serves as a critical route for global energy shipments.
“Right now, the Strait is open; we’ve got a lot of boats coming through, people aren’t reporting that,” he said. “And that may slow down a little bit at some point, but right now a lot of boats are coming through.”
On June 18, Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending their war in the region on all fronts. Under the MoU, the two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within a period of 60 days, which ended on Monday, to reach a final agreement. However, the fate of the talks remains unclear following an escalation between the two countries last month.
Washington’s anti-Tehran “economic operation” comes as Iran is already under US unilateral sanctions and naval blockade.
–IANS
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