Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has hit back at US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's warning of fresh sanctions against countries maintaining economic ties with Tehran, saying the United States is not in a position to further restrict Iran's relations with other countries.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Ghalibaf dismissed the US warning, saying Washington's statements were not being taken seriously by Iran's trading partners.
"Americans know that no one buys their bombast; the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries," Ghalibaf said.
He added that Iran's trading partners had conveyed, both through the media and in messages sent to Tehran, that they were not taking such statements into account.
Ghalibaf's remarks came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the launch of "Operation Economic Outcast", a campaign aimed at cutting Iran's financial links with the rest of the world and restricting revenue sources that support the Iranian regime.
During a press conference, Bessent also addressed Iranian "ordinary soldiers", urging them to question whether their military leadership was taking the country towards victory or ruin as Washington increases economic pressure on Tehran.
"To the ordinary soldiers supporting this regime, as more and more of your paychecks stop or are supposedly just delayed, ask whether your commanders are leading your country to triumph or to ruin," Bessent said.
He also referred to the fall of the Berlin Wall, saying it happened when ordinary soldiers chose not to fire on their own people.
The latest exchange comes amid growing tensions between the US and Iran, with Washington seeking to limit Tehran's access to international financial networks and other economic lifelines.
#WATCH | Washington DC | US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, "... The U.S. Department of the Treasury has launched Operation Economic Outcast, an unprecedented campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its neighbours. During World War II, D-Day marked the historic… pic.twitter.com/q1JcS9dQSt
— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2026
Bessent said Iran now faces a choice between complete isolation and returning to the international economy.
"Iran now faces a clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path to normalcy with the opportunity to rejoin the global economy. Today we are launching Operation Economic Outcast to foreclose all other options available to the Iranian regime," he said.
The Treasury Secretary said US authorities had identified the networks Iran uses to move oil and circumvent sanctions.
"Treasury has mapped every node, facilitator, and network that Iran has used to smuggle oil and evade sanctions. Beginning today, the actions of Treasury and other agencies will block every potential source of revenue that funds the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the evil Iranian regime," he added.
Bessent's latest remarks came a day after he warned in an op-ed that an "economic D-Day is coming for Iran." His comments followed similar warnings from US President Donald Trump, who has been pushing for greater economic pressure on Tehran while seeking to bring Iran back to negotiations.
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