Iran has threatened to disrupt oil exports from the Persian Gulf if countries in the region cooperate with President Donald Trump’s planned economic sanctions against Tehran, warning that nations cannot help impose an economic blockade on Iran while continuing to benefit from unrestricted oil flows.
Iran’s new national security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran would initially seek negotiations with countries that join the United States pressure campaign but would move to target their oil export routes if those efforts failed, according to a report by the New York Times on Sunday.
“Countries cannot join America in imposing an economic blockade and harm our interests while we continue allowing oil to leave the Persian Gulf,” Rezaei said in an interview with Iran’s state broadcaster on Saturday. He added, “We will target those routes as well.”
Rezaei, a political hard-liner and former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also declared that countries assisting Washington’s economic pressure campaign would be treated as enemies. “Any country that becomes a partner in creating economic restrictions against us will be regarded by us as an enemy,” he said.
The warning raises the prospect of a broader disruption to energy supplies across the Gulf at a time when the Trump administration is preparing to intensify economic pressure on Tehran.
Trump has threatened “tremendous economic consequences” for countries that continue doing business with Iran, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to announce Washington’s economic plan against Tehran on Monday.
Bessent last week warned of “never before seen” measures. Analysts said the measures could include sanctions against countries buying Iranian oil and additional restrictions on financial transactions with Tehran.
The threat from Tehran comes as the United States and Iran remain locked in an economic confrontation following months of military hostilities.
Iran has continued to restrict traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors, and has refused to lift the restrictions until an agreement is reached with Washington, including access to frozen Iranian assets and relief from US sanctions.
But Rezaei’s latest warning suggests that Tehran could seek to extend the disruption beyond Hormuz if Gulf states participate in the US pressure campaign.
Iranian authorities, according to Rezaei, would first attempt to negotiate with countries joining the sanctions regime. If those efforts failed, he said Tehran could move against alternative routes used by Gulf oil producers.
The threat could therefore affect efforts by major oil-producing countries to reduce their vulnerability to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in pipelines carrying oil towards the Red Sea, allowing some exports to bypass the strait. Iraq has also increased the movement of crude through pipelines to Turkey and by road through Syria.
Those alternative routes could become vulnerable if Tehran follows through on its warning. The immediate pressure is already being felt by Iran’s regional trading relationships.
The United Arab Emirates halted all trade and financial transactions with Iran earlier this week, a decision that could significantly restrict Iranian importers’ access to financial services and make it harder for businesses to pay for goods.
A similar move by Turkey, another major Iranian trading partner, could have even more serious consequences for Tehran.
Mahdi Ghodsi, an economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, said the economic confrontation amounted to an expansion of the war. “This is an extension and expansion of war, until Iran reaches an agreement with the US,” Ghodsi said. “And it’s going to be worse for Iran than for the regional or global economy,” he added.
Iran’s threat comes despite its own deepening economic crisis. The country’s energy infrastructure has been damaged by the conflict, while the US maritime blockade has restricted trade and contributed to a reported 15 to 30 per cent reduction in energy production, according to Ghodsi.
Iran’s economy was already under severe strain before the conflict began. A sharp fall in the value of the Iranian rial triggered nationwide protests that were violently suppressed, with thousands reportedly killed. The currency has since lost another 40 per cent of its value.
The crisis between Iran and the US has continued to cause fluctuations in the prices of crude oil, a development that consistently alters the pump prices of refined petroleum products in Nigeria.