Iran<\/a>\u2019s Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei has earlier hit back at US President Donald Trump\u2019s claims over the Strait of Hormuz, saying, \u201cThe gap between America\u2019s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself.\u201d He added, \u201cWelcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf.\u201d<\/p>\nSecretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei\n<\/p>\n
ECONOMIC WAR ESCALATES<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s latest post comes as Washington prepares to impose fresh sanctions on Iran, adding another layer to the growing economic confrontation between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Iran has condemned the planned sanctions, warning that they could further strain its economy and affect major trading partners, particularly China, which remains a key buyer of Iranian oil.<\/p>\n
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to announce what he has described as \u201cthe toughest sanctions in history\u201d against Iran. He has also urged China to cooperate with Washington over Tehran\u2019s oil exports.<\/p>\n
IRAN REJECTS US PRESSURE<\/p>\n
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has criticised the planned sanctions as an attempt to impose US authority beyond its borders.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law,\u201d Baghaei said in a post on X.<\/p>\n
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, also warned neighbouring countries against supporting Washington\u2019s economic campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are telling all nearby countries not to join the US economic war, otherwise we will consider them as enemies,\u201d Rezaei said.<\/p>\n
HORMUZ REMAINS AT THE CENTRE<\/p>\n
The Strait of Hormuz has become the main flashpoint in the wider confrontation, with Iran maintaining that the waterway is closed and threatening action against unauthorised oil tankers.<\/p>\n
The disruption has severely affected global energy shipments. Only a handful of commodity vessels have crossed the strait, with major crude carriers and LNG tankers largely absent.<\/p>\n
Iran has, however, permitted some Iraqi oil tankers to pass through following requests from Baghdad.<\/p>\n
OIL FLOWS HIT BY CRISIS<\/p>\n
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US military had helped move an average of 8 million barrels of oil a day through the strait over a seven-day period.<\/p>\n
That is significantly below the more than 20 million barrels a day that moved through the waterway before the war, underscoring the impact of the crisis on global energy supplies.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s ability to disrupt tanker traffic remains a major concern, with Tehran retaining significant missile and drone capabilities despite heavy damage to its military infrastructure.<\/p>\n
TRUMP AND IRAN REMAIN AT ODDS<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly warned countries against providing Iran with \u201cany type of lifeline\u201d and has insisted that Tehran must accept what Washington considers the right deal.<\/p>\n
Iran, meanwhile, has remained defiant while also signalling that it is open to diplomacy.<\/p>\n
President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for a diplomatic solution to end the conflict, arguing that Iran should seek an end to the war while retaining its strength and dignity.<\/p>\n
With Trump again referring to the Strait of Hormuz as \u201cNEW US Territory\u201d and Iran insisting that the waterway will remain closed without a change in Washington\u2019s approach, the strategic passage remains at the heart of the escalating US-Iran confrontation.<\/p>\n
– Ends<\/p>\n
Published By: <\/p>\n
Zafar Zaidi<\/p>\n
Published On: <\/p>\n
Aug 23, 2026 05:33 IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US President Donald Trump on Sunday again shared an image on Truth Social describing the strategically vital Strait…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[28],"tags":[31733,38,405,102,19659,6475,3620,2288,101,146],"class_list":["post-260791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-strait-of-hormuz","tag-china-iran-oil-trade","tag-donald-trump","tag-global-oil-supply","tag-hormuz","tag-iran-missile-programme","tag-iran-sanctions","tag-masoud-pezeshkian","tag-scott-bessent","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-us-iran-tensions"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117142911924768272","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}