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Iran security chief warns neighbors ahead of Monday U.S. sanctions
Developing
What we know
Iran’s new Supreme National Security Council chief, Mohsen Rezaei, warned neighboring countries not to join what he called a U.S. “economic war,” saying Tehran would treat participants as enemies and could strike their interests and alternative Persian Gulf oil-shipping routes.
The remarks aired as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to detail new Iran sanctions at a Monday news conference, after President Donald Trump pledged unprecedented economic pressure and secondary consequences for countries that aid Tehran. Oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply reduced nearly six months into the U.S.–Iran conflict.
What's confirmed
- Reuters reporting carried by NBC and related wires: Bessent plans a 2 p.m. ET Monday briefing on what he has called “the toughest sanctions in history,” while urging China — which buys most of Iran’s shipped oil — to cooperate; Beijing has urged diplomacy.
- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei called the forthcoming secondary sanctions an “assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty” with “no foundation in international law.”
- Sunday Dubai-datelined coverage (The Hindu / wire circuit): Rezaei said Iran would retaliate “in a seismic manner” if Trump acts further, and would target alternative Gulf export routes if neighbors join U.S. economic measures.
- Ship-tracking and wire accounts continue to show Hormuz traffic far below prewar levels; Iran has asserted control and discussed fee arrangements with Oman in state-media statements.
What's still developing
- Exact scope of Monday’s U.S. measures, and which third countries face secondary pressure, will not be clear until Bessent’s announcement.
- Egypt–Iran diplomatic contacts and a reported Pakistan mediation track were noted in Sunday coverage; no ceasefire or Hormuz reopening deal was reported as settled.
- Whether Gulf neighbors alter oil or finance policies in response to Rezaei’s warning remained unconfirmed.
Sources
- Reuters / NBC News — U.S.–Iran rhetoric ahead of Monday sanctions; Bessent briefing; Hormuz traffic link
- Reuters — Prior wire: “toughest sanctions in history”; China diplomacy note link
- The Hindu — Rezaei warns neighbors; seismic retaliation; alternative oil routes link
- CNBC — Bessent sanctions framing; Iran rhetoric Saturday link